Eaton (ETN) Risk Factors

Protecting Eaton's intellectual property rights is critical to its ability to compete and succeed. The Company owns a large number of patents and patent applications worldwide, as well as trademark and copyright registrations that are necessary, and contribute significantly, to the preservation of Eaton's competitive position in various markets. Although management believes that the loss or expiration of any single intellectual property right would not have a material effect on the results of operations or financial position of Eaton or its business segments, there can be no assurance that any one, or more, of these patents and other intellectual property will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented by third parties. Eaton enters into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with the Company's employees, and into non-disclosure agreements with suppliers and appropriate customers, so as to limit access to and disclosure of proprietary information. These measures may not suffice to deter misappropriation or independent third party development of similar technologies.

Eaton relies on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including procurement, manufacturing, distribution, invoicing and collection. Additionally, many of our products and services include integrated software and information technology that collects data or connects to external and internal systems. Because of this, cybersecurity threats pose a material risk to our business operations. Global cybersecurity threats range from widespread vulnerabilities, sophisticated and targeted measures known as advanced persistent threats, or uncoordinated individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to IT/OT systems. These threats may be directed at Eaton, its products, software embedded in Eaton's products, or its third-party service providers. The risk is amplified by the increasingly connected nature of our products and systems. These threats may originate from anywhere in the connected world and take the form of phishing, malware, bots, or human-centric attacks. Eaton continually seeks to deploy comprehensive measures to deter, prevent, detect, respond to and mitigate these threats. As a result of our worldwide operations, we are subject to laws and regulations, including data protection/privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations, in many jurisdictions. In addition, we operate in an environment in which there are different and potentially conflicting data privacy laws in effect in the various U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate and we must understand and comply with each law and standard in each of these jurisdictions while ensuring the data is secure. For example, the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) prefers that we manage personal data in the E.U. and may impose fines of up to four percent of our global revenue in the event of certain violations. Eaton's customers, including Governmental Agencies, are increasingly requiring cybersecurity protections and mandating cybersecurity standards which may result in additional operating or production costs. Our cybersecurity program aligns with well-known industry-wide security control frameworks. Despite these efforts, cybersecurity incidents could potentially result in the misappropriation, destruction, corruption or unavailability of critical data and confidential or proprietary information and the disruption of business operations. The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include theft of intellectual property, disruption of operations, reputational damage, adverse health and safety consequences, the loss or misuse of confidential information, product failure, as well as exposure to fines, legal claims or enforcement actions.