Company: WTFCN
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001015328-25-000093
Chunk: 226

Company: WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 226
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 customer transaction volume; electrical, telecommunications or other major physical infrastructure outages; natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes and floods; disease pandemics; and events arising from local or larger scale political or social matters, including wars and terrorist acts. In addition, we may need to take our systems or networks offline if they become infected with malware or a computer virus or as a result of another form of cyber-attack, information security breach or other similar incident. In the event that backup systems are utilized, they may not process data as quickly as our primary systems and some data might not have been saved to backup systems, potentially resulting in a temporary or permanent loss of such data. Our business recovery plan may not be adequate and may not prevent significant interruptions of our operations or substantial losses. We frequently update our systems to support our operations and growth and to remain compliant with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. This updating entails significant costs and creates risks associated with implementing new systems and networks and integrating them with existing ones, including business interruptions. Implementation and testing of controls related to our computer systems and networks, security monitoring and retaining and training personnel required to operate our systems also entail significant costs. 

We may not be insured against all types of losses as a result of disruptions to or failures of our operational and security systems, networks and infrastructure or those of third parties, and our insurance coverage may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all, or may be inadequate to cover all losses resulting from such disruptions or failures. Disruptions or failures in our business structure or in the structure of one or more of our third-party vendors could interrupt the operations or increase the cost of doing business. The occurrence of any disruptions or failures impacting our or our third-party vendors’ operational or security systems, networks or infrastructure could result in a loss of customer business and expose us to additional regulatory scrutiny, civil litigation, and possible financial liability, any of which could adversely impact our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition, as well as cause reputational harm.

We face risks from cyber-attacks, information security breaches and other similar incidents that could result in the disclosure of confidential and other information (including personal information), all of which could adversely affect our business or reputation, and create significant legal and financial exposure.

Our computer systems and network infrastructure and those of third parties, on which we are highly dependent, are subject to security risks and could be susceptible to cyber-attacks, information security breaches and other similar incidents. Our business relies on the secure processing, transmission,