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A 2025 Cybersecurity Legal Safe Harbor Overview

September 8, 2025

Although cybersecurity has remained a top priority for business leaders for well over a decade, the increasing velocity, impact and unpredictability of cyberattacks, combined with the growing sophistication of cybercriminals, continues to cause significant concern for organizations worldwide.

Risk professionals continue to play an integral role in preparing their organizations to avoid, mitigate and recover from cyberattacks. However, especially for organizations operating across multiple U.S. jurisdictions, cyber compliance must be a key component of that cyber strategy.

Complementing strong cybersecurity programs, legal safe harbor laws encourage firms to adopt cybersecurity frameworks while offering them a potential shield against punitive damages in the aftermath of a data breach.

This RIMS report provides a general overview of expected cybersecurity measures that organizations must take to satisfy legal safe harbor requirements. It summarizes state safe harbor laws that have been developed to ensure organizations are proactive about cybersecurity, and that digital, financial and intellectual assets are legally protected when that inevitable cyberattack occurs.

RIMS Members get first-look access to this report for 60 days.

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About RIMS

RIMS, the risk management society®, empowers risk professionals to make the world safer, more secure, and more sustainable. Through networking, professional development, certification, advocacy, and research, RIMS serves more than 200,000 risk practitioners and business leaders from over 75 countries. Founded in 1950, the Society publishes the award-winning Risk Management Magazine, RIMScast podcast series, and produces RISKWORLD®, the largest annual gathering of global risk professionals. RIMS welcomes all risk professionals to explore the online Risk Knowledge library, earn the RIMS-CRMP certification, and connect with the global risk community via the RIMS Engage online forum. Follow RIMSorg on X, Facebook, Instagram, and RIMS on LinkedIn. To support the future of the risk management profession, visit RIMS, The Foundation for Risk Management®.  To learn more or to join, visit www.RIMS.org.