KonaTel, Inc. 10-K Cybersecurity GRC - 2024-04-01

Page last updated on July 16, 2024

KonaTel, Inc. reported their cybersecurity risk management and governance process in a yearly 10-K filed on 2024-04-01 17:17:02 EDT.

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10-K filed on 2024-04-01

KonaTel, Inc. filed a 10-K at 2024-04-01 17:17:02 EDT
Accession Number: 0001515971-24-000035

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Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

Item 1C, Cybersecurity. Our business operations could be impacted by public health crises. We are subject to risks related to public health crises, such as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted our operations. Actions taken around the world to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus included restrictions on travel and quarantines in certain areas, and forced closures for certain types of public places and businesses. The coronavirus and actions taken to mitigate it have had and are expected to continue to have an adverse impact on the economies and financial markets of many countries, including the geographical 16 areas in which we operate. While it is unknown how long these conditions will last and what the complete financial affect will be on us, to date, and as a result of actions taken by management to mitigate a material impact to our financial statements or our operational results, we are not currently experiencing a material impact to our financial statements or our results of operations; however, a pandemic typically results in social distancing, travel bans and quarantines, which may result in limited access to our facilities, customers, management, support staff and professional advisors. These, in turn, may not only impact our operations, financial condition and demand for our services, but our overall ability to react timely to mitigate the impact of this event. Given our small staff, if a key member of our team were disabled by COVID-19 or some other similar crisis, it could have a material negative impact on our business. Also, it may substantially hamper our efforts to provide our investors with timely information and to comply with our filing obligations under the Exchange Act with the SEC. If any pandemic were to last a prolonged period of time, we could see a decline in revenue due to the closure of customer businesses, which could then impact our ability to pay our short-term debts. Our concentration of revenue from a small group of Apeiron Systems’ customers makes it reasonably possible that we are vulnerable to the risk of a long-term severe impact. Our dependence on certain suppliers to provide equipment to be distributed or sold to our customers could also be impacted if inventory shortages occur due to import or export restrictions resulting from any pandemic. General global market and economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations. Our business has been and could continue to be affected by general economic and market conditions. Weakness in the United States and worldwide economy could have a negative effect on our operating results. Additionally, in a down-cycle economic environment, we may experience the negative effects of increased competitive pricing pressure, customer loss, slowdown in commerce over the Internet and corresponding decrease in traffic delivered over our network and failures by our customers to pay amounts owed to us on a timely basis or at all. Suppliers on which we rely for equipment, field services, servers, bandwidth, co-location and other services could also be negatively impacted by economic conditions that, in turn, could have a negative impact on our business operations or revenues. Flat or worsening economic conditions may harm our operating results and financial condition. Economic, political and market conditions may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Our business, financial condition and operating results are sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, including interest rates, consumer credit conditions, consumer debt levels, consumer confidence, unemployment rates, economic growth, energy costs, rates of inflation (or concerns about deflation), supply chain disruptions, impacts of current geopolitical conflict or instability, such as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars, and further escalations thereof, and other macroeconomic factors. These unfavorable economic conditions may lead to decreased demand for our products or services in the future, especially by our lower-income customers, which would have a negative effect on our business and results of operations. In particular, inflation could affect the price of equipment for the services provided in our Lifeline Program. Ongoing global conflicts and sanctions could lead to higher prices for commodities used in the production of telephones and other technologies used in the global telecommunications industry, which may result in decreased demand for our products and services. To the extent that we are unable to increase the prices of our goods and services in response to increased costs, our operating margins will be compressed. Supply chain disruptions could adversely affect our business. Supply chain dislocations resulting from global geopolitical and public health issues such as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars, any resurgence in the COVID-19 health crises and other causes may have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations. Such disruptions may increase our costs of doing business, including significant increases in the price of our products and their components and materials and the related costs of shipment, including equipment used in the Lifeline Program. Supply chain disruptions may also adversely affect our access to suppliers, manufacturers, customers and vendors and may impair our ability to perform contracted services. Delays in our ability to meet our obligations as a result of supply chain issues may negatively affect our reputation, our relationships with customers and our ability to deliver products and services. The markets in which we operate are rapidly emerging, and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors to our business. The markets in which we operate are becoming increasingly competitive. Our current competitors generally include those that offer similar products and services. These competitors, including future new competitors who may emerge, may be able to develop comparable or superior solution capabilities, platforms, services, products and/or a series of services that provide a similar or more robust set of features and functionality than the technologies, products and services we offer. If this occurs, we may be unable to grow as necessary to make our business profitable. 17 Regardless of whether we have superior products, many of these current and potential future competitors have a longer operating history in their current respective business areas and greater market presence, brand recognition, engineering and marketing capabilities, and financial, technological and personnel resources than we do. Existing and potential competitors with an extended operating history, even if not directly related to our business, have an inherent marketing advantage because of the reluctance of many potential customers to entrust key operations to a company that may be perceived as unproven or in the early stage of its development. In addition, our existing and potential future competitors may be able to use their extensive resources: · to develop and deploy new products and services more quickly and effectively than we can; · to develop, improve and expand their platforms and related infrastructures more quickly than we can; · to reduce costs, particularly hardware costs, because of discounts associated with large volume purchases and longer-term relationships and commitments; · to offer less expensive products, technologies, platforms and services as a result of a lower cost structure, greater capital reserves or otherwise; · to adapt more swiftly and completely to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements; · to take advantage of acquisition and other opportunities more readily; and · to devote greater resources to the marketing and sales of their products, technology, platform and services. If we are unable to compete effectively in our various markets, or if competitive pressures place downward pressure on the prices at which we offer our products and services, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer, and our business may fail. Compliance with the reporting requirements of federal securities laws can be expensive. We are a public “reporting company” in the United States, and accordingly, subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and other federal securities laws, rules and regulations, including compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The costs of preparing and filing annual and quarterly reports and other information with the SEC and furnishing audited and reviewed financial statements in reports filed with the SEC, along with required communications with our shareholders, are substantial. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur costs associated with continuing as a public company, including, but not limited to, legal, accounting, filing and other related costs and expenses. Failure to comply with the applicable securities laws could result in private or governmental legal action against us or our officers and directors, which could have a detrimental impact on our business and financial condition, the value of our common stock and the ability of our shareholders to resell their common stock. We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. All future revenues are anticipated to be utilized for research, development and the furtherance of our business plan and our technologies, products, services and platform, and accordingly, it is highly unlikely that shareholders will receive any dividends from us in the near future, if ever. We do not intend to provide guidance about future events in the foreseeable future. Our Board of Directors anticipates adopting a policy that will preclude us from providing guidance about matters that may happen in the foreseeable future, though any such policy will not prohibit our responsibilities to provide forward-looking information to our shareholders and to the public in our Exchange Act filings with the SEC, including our “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” required in a number of SEC reports and registration statements. Risks Related to Our Common Stock There is a limited active trading market for our shares of common stock. 18 In general, there has been a limited trading volume in our common stock. The small trading volume will likely make it difficult for shareholders to sell their shares as and when they choose. Furthermore, small trading volumes are generally understood to depress market prices. As a result, you may not always be able to resell shares of our common stock publicly at the time and prices that you feel are fair or appropriate. Additionally, if we do not timely file our reports required to be filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act, broker-dealers may not be able or willing to trade our common stock, and the OTC Markets will post adverse warnings on its website about such failures, which, unless such failures are corrected by us, could have an additional adverse impact on the viability of any “established trading market” that may develop for our common stock. Other adverse warnings of the OTC Markets under their current and future policies could similarly have an adverse effect on any market for our common stock, and there is no assurance that we will be able to satisfy comments or concerns of the OTC Markets, if any are expressed. If an active market for our common stock develops, there is a significant risk that the Company’s common stock price may fluctuate dramatically in the future in response to any of the following factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: · variations in our quarterly operating results; · announcements that our revenue or income are below analysts’ expectations; · general economic slowdowns; · sales of large blocks of our common stock by insiders and others; and · announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital raises. Our investors’ ownership in the Company may be diluted in the future. In the future, we may issue additional authorized but previously unissued equity securities, resulting in the dilution of ownership interests of our present shareholders. We expect to need to issue a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exercisable for our common stock in connection with hiring or retaining employees, future acquisitions, raising additional capital in the future to fund our operations and other business purposes. We currently offer incentive stock options for our officers, directors and certain significant employees and may extend this policy to others. Additional shares of common stock issued by us in the future will dilute an investor’s investment in the Company. Directors, executive officers, principal shareholders and affiliated entities own a significant percentage of our capital stock, and they may make decisions that our shareholders do not consider to be in their best interests. As of the date of this Annual Report, D. Sean McEwen, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, beneficially owns approximately 38% of our issued and outstanding shares of common voting stock by reason of his personal holdings. This percentage includes certain vested non-compensatory stock options which he owns and that can be exercised within sixty (60) days of the date of this Annual Report, all of which options are described under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in Part III, Item 12 hereof. As a result, Mr. McEwen may have the ability to substantially control the election of our board of directors, the outcome of issues requiring approval by our shareholders and other corporate actions. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our Company that may be favored by other shareholders; and could prevent transactions in which shareholders might otherwise recover a premium for their shares over current market prices. This concentration of ownership and influence in management and board decision making could also harm the price of our capital stock by, among other things, discouraging a potential acquirer from seeking to acquire shares of our capital stock, whether by making a tender offer or attempting to obtain control of our Company. Also see the caption “Executive Compensation” of Part III, Item 11 hereof. If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner or detect fraud. Consequently, investors could lose confidence in our financial reporting, and this may adversely affect any trading price for our common stock that may then exist. We must maintain effective internal controls to provide reliable financial reports and to detect and prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, we may not be able to manage our business as effectively as would be possible with an 19 effective control system in place. We have not performed an in-depth analysis to determine if historical undiscovered failures of internal controls exist and may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. We are continually in the process of evaluating our internal controls for effectiveness as well as evaluating the need for additional internal controls. Failure to implement changes to our internal controls that we may deem to be ineffective or any others that we may identify as necessary to maintain an effective system of internal controls could harm our operating results and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. Any such loss of confidence could have a substantial negative affect on the trading price of our common stock. ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS None. ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY We face significant and persistent cybersecurity risks due primarily to: the substantial level of harm that could occur to us and our customers were we to suffer impacts of a material cybersecurity incident; and our use of third-party products, services and components. We are committed to maintaining strong governance and oversight of these risks and to implementing mechanisms, controls, technologies and processes designed to help us assess, identify and manage these risks. While we have not, as of the date of this Annual Report, experienced a cybersecurity threat or incident that resulted in a material adverse impact to our business or operations, there can be no guarantee that we will not experience such an incident in the future. In addition, these threats are constantly evolving, thereby increasing the difficulty of successfully defending against them or implementing adequate preventative measures. We seek to detect and investigate unauthorized attempts and attacks against our network, products and services, and to prevent their occurrence and recurrence where practicable through changes or updates to our internal processes and tools and changes or updates to our products and services; however, we remain potentially vulnerable to known or unknown threats. We aim to incorporate industry best practices throughout our cybersecurity program. Our cybersecurity strategy focuses on implementing effective and efficient controls, technologies and other processes to assess, identify and manage material cybersecurity risks. Our cybersecurity program is designed to be aligned with applicable industry standards and is assessed periodically by independent third parties. We have processes in place to assess, identify, manage and address material cybersecurity threats and incidents. These include, among other things: annual and ongoing security awareness training for employees; mechanisms to detect and monitor unusual network activity; and containment and incident response tools. We monitor issues that are internally discovered or externally reported that may affect our business, and have processes to assess those issues for potential cybersecurity impact or risk. We also have a process in place to manage cybersecurity risks associated with third-party service providers. We impose security requirements upon our suppliers, including maintaining an effective security management program and abiding by information handling and asset management requirements. We have an escalation process in place to inform senior management and the Board of Directors of these material issues.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY We face significant and persistent cybersecurity risks due primarily to: the substantial level of harm that could occur to us and our customers were we to suffer impacts of a material cybersecurity incident; and our use of third-party products, services and components. We are committed to maintaining strong governance and oversight of these risks and to implementing mechanisms, controls, technologies and processes designed to help us assess, identify and manage these risks. While we have not, as of the date of this Annual Report, experienced a cybersecurity threat or incident that resulted in a material adverse impact to our business or operations, there can be no guarantee that we will not experience such an incident in the future. In addition, these threats are constantly evolving, thereby increasing the difficulty of successfully defending against them or implementing adequate preventative measures. We seek to detect and investigate unauthorized attempts and attacks against our network, products and services, and to prevent their occurrence and recurrence where practicable through changes or updates to our internal processes and tools and changes or updates to our products and services; however, we remain potentially vulnerable to known or unknown threats. We aim to incorporate industry best practices throughout our cybersecurity program. Our cybersecurity strategy focuses on implementing effective and efficient controls, technologies and other processes to assess, identify and manage material cybersecurity risks. Our cybersecurity program is designed to be aligned with applicable industry standards and is assessed periodically by independent third parties. We have processes in place to assess, identify, manage and address material cybersecurity threats and incidents. These include, among other things: annual and ongoing security awareness training for employees; mechanisms to detect and monitor unusual network activity; and containment and incident response tools. We monitor issues that are internally discovered or externally reported that may affect our business, and have processes to assess those issues for potential cybersecurity impact or risk. We also have a process in place to manage cybersecurity risks associated with third-party service providers. We impose security requirements upon our suppliers, including maintaining an effective security management program and abiding by information handling and asset management requirements. We have an escalation process in place to inform senior management and the Board of Directors of these material issues.

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