Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

There May Be 'No Do-Overs,' but SEC Hack Provides Important Security Lessons

By Ed Silverstein
October 02, 2017

Even the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can get hacked — and the recently announced cyber attack against the SEC is providing an important wake-up call for U.S. companies regulated by the powerful agency and the attorneys they work with.

What We've Learned

Mauro Wolfe, a former federal prosecutor now working as an attorney at Duane Morris, noted there were some initial media reports suggesting that the SEC's impacted electronic system — known as EDGAR — the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval test filing system was perhaps “an old system.”

If that's true, it sends a reminder to companies that they need to check the cybersecurity on their own legacy systems, Wolfe says. The same is true of more up-to-date systems found in companies.

Read These Next
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.