We are responsible both for our own business and to a significant degree for acts and omissions by certain of our distribution partners and third-party vendors under the rules and regulations established by the payment networks, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express and the debit networks. We and other third parties collect, process, store and transmit sensitive data, such as names, addresses, social security numbers, credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates or other payment card information, drivers' license numbers and bank account numbers, and we have ultimate liability to the payment networks and member financial institutions that register us with the payment networks for our failure, or the failure of certain distribution partners and third parties with whom we contract, to protect this data in accordance with payment network requirements. Certain of our software and technology-enabled services are intended for use in collecting, storing and displaying clinical and health care-related information used in the diagnosis and treatment of patients and in related health care settings such as registration, scheduling and billing. We attempt to limit by contract our liability, however, the limitations of liability set forth in the contracts may not be enforceable or otherwise protect us from liability, and we may also be subject to claims that are not covered by contract. Although we maintain liability insurance coverage, there can be no assurance that such coverage will cover any claim, prove to be adequate or continue to remain available on acceptable terms, if at all. The loss, destruction or unauthorized modification of client or cardholder data could result in significant fines, sanctions and proceedings or actions against us by the payment networks, payment processors, sponsor banks, governmental bodies, our customers, our clients' customers or others, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any such sanction, fine, proceeding or action could result in significant damage to our reputation or the reputation of our customers, negatively impact our ability to attract or retain customers, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of these proceedings, disrupt our operations, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business and may result in the imposition of monetary liability. A significant cybersecurity breach could also result in payment networks prohibiting us from processing transactions on their networks or the loss of our financial institution sponsorship that facilitates our participation in the payment networks, either of which could materially impede our ability to conduct business.
In addition, our products and services have been and may in the future be targets of cyber-attacks that attempt to sabotage or otherwise disable them, and the defensive and preventative measures we take ultimately may not be able to effectively detect, prevent, or protect against or otherwise mitigate losses from all cyber-attacks. Threats can come from a variety of sources, including criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored intrusions, industrial espionage and insider threats. Certain efforts may be supported by significant financial and technological resources, making them even more sophisticated and difficult to detect. Numerous and evolving cybersecurity threats, including advanced and persisting cyber-attacks, cyber-extortion, ransomware attacks, spear phishing and social engineering schemes, the introduction of computer viruses or other malware and the physical destruction of all or portions of our information technology and infrastructure could compromise the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the data in our systems. Despite our efforts to create security barriers against such threats, it is virtually impossible for us to eliminate these risks entirely. Any such breach could compromise our networks or the products we offer our customers, creating system disruptions or slowdowns and exploiting security vulnerabilities of our products. Additionally, the information stored on our networks could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen, any of which could subject us to liability and cause us financial harm. These breaches, or any perceived breach, may also result in reporting obligations, damage to our reputation, negative publicity, loss of key partners, customers and transactions, increased remedial costs, or costly litigation, and may therefore adversely impact market acceptance of our products and services and may seriously affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
An increasing number of organizations, including large merchants, businesses, technology companies and financial institutions, as well as government institutions, have disclosed breaches of their information security systems, some of which have involved sophisticated and highly targeted attacks on their websites, mobile applications and infrastructure. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper, or illegal access to systems and information (including customers' personal data), disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems are constantly evolving and have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, may be difficult to detect quickly, and often are not recognized or detected until after they have been launched against a target. Even if identified, we may be unable to adequately investigate or remediate incidents or breaches due to attackers increasingly using tools and techniques that are designed to circumvent controls, avoid detection, and remove or obfuscate forensic evidence.
We have been and could in the future be subject to breaches of security by hackers or other malicious actors. Although we proactively employ multiple measures to defend our systems against intrusions and attacks and to protect the data we collect, our measures may not prevent unauthorized access or use of sensitive data. We experience cyber-attacks and other security incidents of varying degrees from time to time, though none which individually or in the aggregate has led to costs or consequences which have materially impacted our operations or business. We may be required to expend significant additional resources in our efforts to modify or enhance our protective measures against evolving threats. A breach of our system or a third-party system upon which we rely may subject us to material losses or liability, including payment network fines, assessments and claims for unauthorized purchases with misappropriated credit, debit or card information, impersonation or other similar fraud claims. A misuse of such data or a cybersecurity breach could harm our reputation and deter our clients and potential clients from using electronic payments generally and our solutions and services specifically, thus reducing our revenue. In addition, any such misuse or breach could cause us to incur costs to correct the breaches or failures, expose us to uninsured liability, increase our risk of regulatory scrutiny, subject us to lawsuits and result in the imposition of material penalties and fines under state and federal laws or by the payment networks. While we maintain insurance coverage that may, subject to policy terms and conditions, cover certain aspects of cyber risks, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses.
Although we generally require that our agreements with our distribution partners and service providers who have access to client and customer data include confidentiality obligations that restrict these parties from using or disclosing any client or customer data except as necessary to perform their services under the applicable agreements, there can be no assurance that these contractual measures will prevent the unauthorized disclosure of business or client data, nor can we be sure that such third parties would be willing or able to satisfy liabilities arising from their breach of these agreements. Any failure by such third parties to adequately take these protective measures could result in protracted or costly litigation.
In addition, our agreements with our bank sponsors (as well as payment network requirements) require us to take certain protective measures to ensure the confidentiality of business and consumer data. Any failure to adequately comply with these protective measures could result in fees, penalties, litigation or termination of our bank sponsor agreements, and/or registration with the payment card networks.
Our existing general liability and cyber liability insurance policies may not cover, or may cover only a portion of, any potential claims related to security breaches to which we are exposed or may not be adequate to indemnify us for all or any portion of liabilities that may be imposed. We also cannot be certain that our existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or in amounts sufficient to cover the potentially significant losses that may result from a security incident or breach or that the insurer will not deny coverage of any future claim. Accordingly, if our cybersecurity measures and those of our service providers, fail to protect against unauthorized access, attacks (which may include sophisticated cyber-attacks) and the mishandling of data by our employees and contractors, then our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, there can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information.