Partner Stephanie Avakian, who is a former Director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, discussed the SEC’s renewed interest in cybersecurity during an interview with Reuters.
In the interview, Avakian touched on the recent increase in SEC enforcement actions – including the agency’s settlements with London-based Pearson PLC and First American Financial Corp over their handling of cybersecurity incidents.
“The big case that the SEC had brought against a public company for a (cyber security) disclosure failure was the Yahoo case, which was several years ago,” Avakian said. “This past summer, we saw two more cases against public companies. That suggests a level of focus and increased aggression in looking at the disclosures companies do or don't make in the wake of a cyber incident.”
Avakian also discussed which cases the SEC is pursuing and what she expects to see from the agency in the future.