As people across the country and world try to figure out how to protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus, hackers are working hard to spread their own viruses.  Indeed, various cybersecurity firms have reported that the amount of malicious emails containing the word “coronavirus” has significantly increased since the end of January.

Many of

On November 13, 2018, Ballard Spahr lawyers presented a webinar on the SEC’s recent “Report of Investigation” into “business email compromises” affecting public companies.

As noted in our prior blog post, the Report was prompted by the SEC’s investigation into whether nine public companies violated U.S. securities laws “by failing to have sufficient accounting controls” to prevent approximately $100 million in losses as a result of business email compromises targeting their personnel. The SEC investigated whether these companies violated Sections 13(b)(2)(B)(i) and (iii) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Although declining to pursue enforcement actions against the companies, the SEC emphasized its recent cybersecurity guidance, advising public companies that “[c]ybersecurity risk management policies and procedures are key elements of enterprise-wide risk management, including as it relates to compliance with federal securities laws.” (See our prior alert and blog post regarding the Interpretive Guidance).
Continue Reading  Listen to Our Webinar on “The SEC’s Special Report on Business Email Compromises: What It Means and What You Should Do”