IPG Photonics (IPF) Risk Analysis

Like many multinational corporations, we maintain several information technology systems, including software products licensed from third parties. These systems vary from country to country. Any system, network or internet failures, misuse by system users, hacking or other unauthorized access by third parties, disruptions or loss of license rights could disrupt our ability to manufacture and ship products on a timely and accurate basis or to report our financial information in compliance with the timelines mandated by the SEC. We also may experience unplanned interruptions or outages affecting our primary enterprise resource planning system as it continues to age, which may make the system increasingly difficult to support and maintain effectively. Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies affecting this system could substantially interrupt our business, including our ability to process and record routine business transactions. Any of these events could divert management's attention from the underlying business, harm our operations and adversely affect our financial results. In addition, a significant failure of our various information technology systems could adversely affect our ability to complete an evaluation of our internal controls and attestation activities pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 under the updated framework issued in 2013. As part of our day-to-day business, we store our data and certain data about our customers, employees and service providers in our information technology system. While our system is designed with access security, if a third party gains unauthorized access to our data or technology, including information regarding our customers, employees and service providers, such security breach could expose us to a risk of loss of this information, loss of business, litigation and possible liability. Our security measures may be breached as a result of third-party action, including intentional misconduct by computer hackers, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise. Additionally, third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or customers into disclosing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords or other information in order to gain access to our customers' data or our data, including our intellectual property and other confidential business information, employee information or our information technology systems. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or to sabotage systems, change frequently and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or detect these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Additionally, we expect threat actors to continue to increase in sophistication, including through the use of increasingly advanced AI tools, which may accelerate the identification and exploitation of vulnerabilities, enable evasion of security controls, and reduce the time between discovery and attempted exploitation. The pace at which vulnerabilities can be identified and weaponized may outstrip our ability, and that of our third-party providers, to test and deploy patches or other mitigating measures across complex systems. Any unauthorized access could negatively impact our customers' products, result in a loss of confidence by our customers, damage our reputation, disrupt our business, result in a misappropriation of our assets (including cash), lead to legal liability and negatively impact our future sales. Additionally, such actions could result in significant costs associated with loss of our intellectual property, impairment of our ability to conduct our operations, rebuilding our network and systems, prosecuting and defending litigation, responding to regulatory inquiries or actions, paying damages or taking other remedial steps. In addition, we may incur significant costs designed to prevent or mitigate the damage related to cybersecurity incidents. For instance, we may retain additional employees or consultants, implement new policies and procedures, and install information technology to detect and prevent identity theft, data breaches, or system disruptions. We would incur any such costs with the intent that proactively preventing a cybersecurity incident ultimately helps to mitigate potential cybersecurity liability. As previously disclosed, on September 14, 2020, the Company detected a ransomware attack impacting certain of our operational and information technology systems that we do not believe had a material impact on the Company's business, operations or financial condition. The costs to address the foregoing security problems and security vulnerabilities before or after a cyber-incident could be significant. Our remediation efforts may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, a cessation of service, and a loss of existing or potential customers, impeding our sales, manufacturing, distribution, and other critical functions.