We and our tenants, borrowers and operators rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes, including financial transactions and records, personal identifying information, tenant and lease data. While we and our tenants, borrowers and operators maintain various physical, cyber and data security controls, incidents or breaches resulting from technical failures, natural hazards, theft and unintentional or deliberate acts by third parties or insiders attempting to obtain unauthorized access to information, destroy or manipulate data, or disrupt or sabotage information systems do occur and they may have a material impact on our business. The risk of security incidents has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attacks and intrusions have increased, and we have seen a significant increase in cyber phishing attacks over the past few years. Additionally, cyber threats and the techniques used in cyberattacks change, develop and evolve rapidly, including from emerging technologies, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and quantum computing. We have engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm who serves as our dedicated information technology ("IT") team and helps us oversee, implement and manage our processes and controls to assess, identify and manage risks from cybersecurity threats. It is possible that our processes and controls will not detect or protect against all cybersecurity threats or incidents. In addition, any failure on the part of our outsourced IT team to effectively monitor and protect our information systems could make us more vulnerable to cybersecurity incidents. Although, to our knowledge, no cybersecurity incident has been material to our business to date, we have been, and expect to continue to be, subject to cybersecurity threats and attacks of varying degrees, and there can be no assurance that we will not experience a material incident. A data security incident or breach occurring at or involving us could have a material adverse impact on our company. A data security incident or breach occurring at or involving a tenant, borrower or operator could jeopardize the tenant's or operators' ability to fulfill its obligations to us and could adversely impact our financial position and results of operations.
Furthermore, we purchase some of our information technology from vendors, on whom our systems depend. We rely on commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmission and storage of confidential tenant, borrower and operator information, some of which may include individually identifiable information, including information relating to financial accounts. Although we have taken steps to protect the security of our information systems and the data maintained in those systems, it is possible that our safety and security measures will not be able to prevent the systems' improper functioning or damage, or the improper access or disclosure of personally identifiable information such as in the event of a cyber-attack. Security breaches (including physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, phishing attacks, computer denial-of-service attacks, worms, covert introduction of malware to computers and networks, impersonation of authorized users, and efforts to discover and exploit any design flaws, bugs, security vulnerabilities or security weaknesses, as well as intentional or unintentional acts by our teammates or other insiders with access privileges, intentional acts of vandalism by third parties and sabotage) can create system disruptions, shutdowns or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Any failure to maintain proper function, security and availability of our information systems could interrupt our operations, damage our reputation, subject us to liability claims or regulatory penalties and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.