Data breaches and corporate liquidity management

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the effects of data breach disclosure laws and the subsequent disclosure of data breaches on the cash policies of corporations in the United States. Exploiting a series of natural experiments regarding staggered state‐level data breach disclosure laws, we find that the passage of mandatory disclosure laws leads to an increase in cash holdings. Our finding suggests that mandatory data breach disclosure laws increase the risks related to data breaches. Further, we find firms that suffer data breaches adjust their financial policies by holding more cash as well as decreasing external finance and investment.