Michelle Reed Quoted in Daily Journal on SEC Regulation of Cyber Breach Disclosures
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Akin Gump litigation partner Michelle Reed is quoted by Daily Journal in the story “SEC preparing to regulate data breach disclosures.”
According to the article, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is getting ready to begin regulating public companies that experience cybersecurity breaches. The commission’s Division of Corporation Finance published guidance on the issue in 2011, but actual enforcement or clarity on what obligations companies owe their investors following a breach have yet to materialize.
Reed said the SEC currently has the means to bring enforcement actions regarding cybersecurity disclosures under its current rules, before any new versions are finalized, because failing to disclose any information that could be useful to the average stockholder is prohibited. “If the SEC says there was some misrepresentation or omission,” she added, “you would see potential for enforcement in this area.”
