Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 956

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 956
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, hold, transmit and otherwise process certain proprietary, sensitive or confidential information, including personal information of customers and employees, as well as a large number of assets. Accordingly, our business relies on our ability to process a large number of transactions efficiently and accurately, and on our ability to rely on our digital technologies, computer and email services, software and networks, as well as on the secure storage, transmission and other processing of proprietary confidential, sensitive and personal data and other information using our computer systems and networks or those of our third-party vendors. Our operations must also comply with complex and evolving laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate. The proper and secure functioning of our financial controls, accounting and other data collection and processing systems is critical to our business and to our ability to compete effectively. Cyberattacks, data breaches, data losses and other security incidents, including fraudulent withdrawal of money, can result from, among other things, inadequate personnel, inadequate or failed internal control processes and systems, or external events or actors that interrupt normal business operations and may include disruptions, failures, service outages, unauthorized access or misuse, software bugs, server malfunctions, software and hardware failure, defective software or hardware updates, malware and ransomware, social engineering and phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, misconduct, fraud, and other events that could have a serious impact on us. We also face the risk that the design of our or our third-party vendors’ cybersecurity controls and procedures prove to be inadequate or are circumvented such that our data or client records are incomplete, not recoverable or not securely stored. Moreover, it is not always possible to deter or prevent employee errors or misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not always be effective. Any material disruption or slowdown of our systems could cause information, including data related to customer requests, to be lost or to be delivered to our clients with delays or errors, which could reduce demand for our services and products, produce customer claims and materially and adversely affect us.

We prioritize early identification, monitoring and mitigation of risks (including those resulting from our interactions with third parties) in our goal to provide a resilient and secure operational environment. In this regard, although (i) we have policies, procedures and controls in place designed to safeguard proprietary, sensitive and confidential information, including personal information, (ii) we take protective technical measures and monitor and develop our systems and networks to protect our technology infrastructure, data and information from misappropriation or corruption, and (iii) we work with our clients