t cht lk assessments , ultimately strengthening the overall resilience of the corporate sector against cyberthreats .
t cht lk assessments , ultimately strengthening the overall resilience of the corporate sector against cyberthreats .
Moreover , the requirement to disclose ‘ material ’ impacts can lead to a better understanding of the true financial consequences of cyberattacks . By sharing this information , companies can learn from each other ’ s experiences , facilitating the development of industry-wide best practices in incident response and mitigation . This collaborative approach can lead to a more robust and adaptive security landscape , making it harder for threat actors to exploit common vulnerabilities across multiple organizations .
However , it ’ s important to acknowledge that implementing this rule will also pose challenges to companies . Four days may not always be sufficient to fully understand the scope and impact of a sophisticated cyberattack . There might be cases where companies require more time to conduct thorough investigations and accurately assess the financial repercussions . To address this concern , the SEC should consider providing guidelines on what initial information needs to be disclosed within the 4-day period , while allowing companies to provide updates and supplementary details as they become available .
In conclusion , the SEC ’ s decision to enforce prompt and transparent disclosure of cyberattacks is a commendable effort to bolster cybersecurity
practices and safeguard the interests of investors . By embracing this new rule , companies will be compelled to take cyberthreats more seriously and prioritize the protection of their sensitive data and financial assets . As security researchers , we welcome this initiative and hope that it will foster a culture of proactive cybersecurity and information sharing within the corporate landscape .”
Paul Brucciani
Companies that have been breached would do well to focus first on showing a duty of care to their customers rather than the SEC . Class actions and a tattered reputation could be more damaging than a fine .
General counsels should advise their colleagues that a breach is not always a breach – calling a security incident a “ data breach ” will not trigger SEC obligations . Until you are certain a breach has taken place , refer to it as an incident .
Consider also using two investigation teams : one commissioned by external counsel to conduct a forensic investigation under legal privilege to educate the external counsel about aspects of the breach so that counsel can provide informed legal advice to its client ; and if necessary , a second team to support the incident response team in investigating and fixing the data breach .
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