In brief In a landmark decision on July 18, 2024, Judge Paul Englemayer of the Southern District of New York dismissed most charges in the SEC’s enforcement action against SolarWinds and its CISO, Timothy Brown. The court ruled that cybersecurity controls are not part of a company’s “system of internal accounting controls” under Section 13(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Exchange Act, dismissing these claims. However, the court upheld charges that SolarWinds and Brown misled investors with public…
In brief On May 21, 2024, Erik Gerding, Director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporate Finance, issued a statement1 clarifying the SEC’s expectations for cybersecurity incident disclosures under the new Form 8-K Item 1.05. Gerding’s statement clarified that Item 1.05 disclosures should be reserved for material cybersecurity incidents, and voluntary disclosures of immaterial incidents, or of incidents before a materiality determination has been made, should be provided under a different item of…
Today, April 4, 2024, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) officially published its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”) for the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (“CIRCIA”). The Proposed Rule requests written comments from the public no later than June 3, 2024. CISA will then have 18 months to promulgate a final rule which is expected to be finalized and in effect by October 2025. CIRCIA Big Picture CIRCIA is…
On January 7, 2024, China’s Cyberspace Administration (“CAC”) closed the public consultation period for its new cybersecurity incident reporting rules, which were released in December. If the draft rules are adopted as written, companies would be required to report certain cybersecurity incidents to the relevant Chinese regulator within one hour. The relevant regulator depends on the nature of the IT system compromised, the industry, and other factors and may be the local CAC, the public…
In the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tinman walk through the forest while expressing great concern about the “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” they may face on their journey to Oz. Companies experiencing global ransomware and cyberattacks can experience similar emotions as they grapple with increasingly complex global legal risks. Across the globe, local legislatures and regulatory authorities have established a multitude of different and sometimes conflicting legal obligations…
On December 21, 2023 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued updates to its Data Breach Notification Rule, which applies to telecommunications carriers, as well as to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers. The updated Data Breach Notification Rule marks the most significant changes to the Rule since its adoption 16 years ago and modernizes the FCC requirements by bringing them more closely in line with other breach reporting obligations. The…
This past year brought the rapid rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms, accompanied by several noteworthy legal and regulatory developments. 2024 promises to continue with technology advances, making it a pivotal year for businesses navigating global data privacy and cybersecurity risks. Our Baker McKenzie Top 10 predictions for 2024 follow. As is evident, 2024 will be a critical year for global data privacy and cybersecurity. We welcome your thoughts and predictions. Please feel…
The California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) held a public board meeting on December 8, 2023. As discussed in our previous article, the CPPA is in the process of preparing Draft Regulations on Cybersecurity Audits, Risk Assessments and Automated Decision-Making Technology. The Rules Subcommittee provided updates on these regulations, and Board members provided their feedback on the drafts. Key Takeaways Regarding CCPA Cybersecurity Audit Regulations Key Takeaways Regarding CCPA Risk Assessment Regulations Key Takeaways Regarding CCPA…
Effective Nov. 1, the New York State Department of Financial Services has strengthened cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies. All companies should take account of these amendments, as these NYDFS regulations are increasingly referenced as key benchmarks for cybersecurity compliance programs. New York’s Department of Financial Services finalized significant amendments to the cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies in Part 500 of Title 23 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the…
In a shocking show of gumption, a ransomware gang has reportedly not only hacked a US public company’s (MeridianLink) IT systems, but also filed a complaint on the SEC’s Tips, Complaints, and Referrals page, regarding Meridian Link’s claimed failure to disclose the incident in an 8-K in violation of the SEC’s new cybersecurity rules. Even though public companies are not yet required to comply with the new cybersecurity disclosure rules (8-K requirement goes effective on…