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Cybersecurity Risk

Author

Listed:
  • Chris Florackis
  • Christodoulos Louca
  • Roni Michaely
  • Michael Weber

Abstract

Based on textual analysis and a comparison of cybersecurity risk disclosures of firms that were hacked to others that were not, we propose a novel firm-level measure of cybersecurity risk for all U.S.-listed firms. We then examine whether cybersecurity risk is priced in the cross-section of stock returns. Portfolios of firms with high exposure to cybersecurity risk outperform other firms, on average, by up to 8.3 per year. Yet, high-exposure firms perform poorly in periods of high cybersecurity risk. Reassuringly, the measure is higher in information-technology industries, correlates with characteristics linked to firms hit by cyberattacks, and predicts future cyberattacks.Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Florackis & Christodoulos Louca & Roni Michaely & Michael Weber, 2023. "Cybersecurity Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 351-407.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:36:y:2023:i:1:p:351-407.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhac024
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Boyer & Martin Eling, 2023. "New advances on cyber risk and cyber insurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(2), pages 267-274, April.
    2. Crosignani, Matteo & Macchiavelli, Marco & Silva, André F., 2023. "Pirates without borders: The propagation of cyberattacks through firms’ supply chains," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 432-448.
    3. Daniel Celeny & Loic Mar'echal & Evgueni Rousselot & Alain Mermoud & Mathias Humbert, 2024. "Prioritizing Investments in Cybersecurity: Empirical Evidence from an Event Study on the Determinants of Cyberattack Costs," Papers 2402.04773, arXiv.org.
    4. Lattanzio, Gabriele & Ma, Yue, 2023. "Cybersecurity risk and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Chang, Jin-Wook & Jayachandran, Kartik & Ramírez, Carlos A. & Tintera, Ali, 2024. "On the anatomy of cyberattacks," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    6. Daniel Celeny & Loic Mar'echal, 2024. "Cyber risk and the cross-section of stock returns," Papers 2402.04775, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2024.
    7. Alex Kim & Maximilian Muhn & Valeri Nikolaev, 2023. "Bloated Disclosures: Can ChatGPT Help Investors Process Information?," Papers 2306.10224, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2025.
    8. Gilles Hilary & Vanessa Serret, 2023. "Governance and Digital Transformation [Gouvernance et transformation numérique]," Post-Print hal-04380300, HAL.
    9. Loic Mar'echal & Alain Mermoud & Dimitri Percia David & Mathias Humbert, 2024. "Measuring the performance of investments in information security startups: An empirical analysis by cybersecurity sectors using Crunchbase data," Papers 2402.04765, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2024.
    10. Xu, Yao & Zhao, Feng & Zhang, Qi, 2025. "How does the cybersecurity law affect corporate investment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Loic Mar'echal & Nathan Monnet, 2024. "Disentangling the sources of cyber risk premia," Papers 2409.08728, arXiv.org.
    12. Ersahin, Nuri & Giannetti, Mariassunta & Huang, Ruidi, 2024. "Supply chain risk: Changes in supplier composition and vertical integration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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