Why is a corporate merger described as a particularly "stressful and exciting" moment for information security?

Merging two firms (such as Baloise and Helvetia into a single Helvetia) means integrating two different security cultures, control sets, asset inventories and risk profiles at once — a high-stakes consolidation.

During a merger, the security organization must reconcile two previously independent ISMSs, asset registers, identity systems and policy sets into one consistent target state. It is "exciting" because it is a rare chance to redesign and harmonize, but "stressful" because mismatched controls, duplicated tooling and cultural differences create real exposure during the transition. This is the live backdrop against which the practical ISM work (org structure, control framework selection, audits) was presented.