Why Cybersecurity Is a Growing Concern in M&A

By Gabriele Lattanzio and Jérôme Taillard August 18, 2022 by renholding

The Fortune 500 CEO survey in 2021 found that two-thirds of interviewed CEOs consider cybersecurity risk their greatest concern, far greater than the risks presented by political instability or climate change.[1] They are right to be concerned, particularly in …

Evidence of Systemic Risk from Major Cybersecurity Breaches

By Shaen Corbet and Constantin Gurdgiev September 27, 2019 by renholding

In general economics, “asymmetric information” refers to information about a transaction in which one party knows more than another party, to the potential benefit of the former at the expense of the latter. An example often occurs when consumers and …

Price Revelation from Insider Trading: Evidence from Hacked Earnings News

By Pat Akey, Vincent Gregoire and Charles Martineau July 10, 2019 by renholding

Cyber risk is a major concern to corporations and investors. Recent academic studies point out that firms suffer large negative returns when they disclose that they have suffered a data breach (e.g., Akey, Lewellen and Liskovich (2018) and Kamiya et …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses U.S. Criminal Prosecutions Based on Panama Papers Hack

By Victor L. Hou, Lisa Vicens, Rahul Mukhi, Martha E. Vega-Gonzalez and Christine Jordan January 29, 2019 by abirvarma

Nearly a decade ago, WikiLeaks ushered in the age of mass leaks. Since then, corporations, governments, public figures and private entities have increasingly had to reckon with a new reality: that vigilantes, activists, extortionists and even state actors can silently …

SEC Chair Discusses EDGAR-Hacking Enforcement Action

By Jay Clayton January 16, 2019 by renholding

In August 2017, shortly after my arrival at the Commission, I was informed that an intrusion into the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system took place in 2016. We immediately initiated a series of review and response

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Arnold & Porter Discusses Growing Cybersecurity Oversight by SEC and Shareholders

By Kenneth L. Chernof, Ron Ghatan and Arthur Luk November 5, 2018 by renholding

Protecting against data breaches, hacks and cyber threats is an unwelcome but necessary reality for businesses today. In addition to vigilantly guarding against attacks, companies must consider the possibilities of litigation and investigations that can stem as a result of …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the SEC’s New Cyber Unit, Six Months On

By Jonathan S. Kolodner, Rahul Mukhi, Matthew C. Solomon and Anne Titus Hilby April 3, 2018 by renholding

On September 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced the creation of a Cyber Unit within the Enforcement Division in order to further the Division’s “substantial expertise in the detection and pursuit of fraudulent …

The Rise of Regulatory Affairs in Innovative Startups

By Elizabeth Pollman July 21, 2017 by renholding

A few years ago, signs of change started to appear in the startup world. Media headlines began reporting battles between regulators and Uber and Airbnb. Sharing economy companies faced worker classification issues, and fintech companies bumped up against securities regulation, …

Gibson Dunn Reviews U.S. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

By Alexander H. Southwell, Eric Vandevelde, Ryan Bergsieker and Jeana Bisnar Maute February 3, 2017 by Jeff Himelson

In 2016, companies, governments, and consumers were again challenged to navigate an evolving landscape of cybersecurity and privacy issues. This year saw flash points impacting the trajectory for data breach litigation, the future for privacy class actions, and the scope …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Hacking and Cyber Threats to Director Communications

By Jay Clayton, John Evangelakos, Glen T. Schleyer, Marc Trevino and Joshua B. Wright November 30, 2016 by renholding

The growth in cybersecurity threats combined with the increasing demands placed on outside directors create challenges that often go beyond the risks that public companies face from employee and client communications. If public companies cannot communicate quickly with directors or …

Financial Weapons and Modern Warfare

By Tom C.W. Lin July 26, 2016 by ilyabeylin

A new type of warfare is upon us. In this new mode of war, finance is the most powerful weapon, bullets are not fired, financial institutions are the targets, and almost everyone is at risk. Instead of smart bombs, improvised …

Computer Hacking and Securities Fraud

By Andrew Vollmer April 7, 2016 by ilyabeylin

In a recent paper, I considered the strength of securities fraud charges asserted in several computer hacker cases filed in mid-2015.[1] Some of the defendants in the cases were the hackers who used computer methods to obtain unauthorized …

An Unsatisfactory State of the Law: The Limited Options for a Corporation Dealing with Cyber Hostilities by State Actors

By Daniel Garrie and Shane R. Reeves September 2, 2015 by ilyabeylin

State-sponsored cyber hostilities on corporations are not a new occurrence. Recent examples include the August 2014 suspected Russian hack of JP Morgan Chase[1] and the continuous cyber activities against corporate targets conducted by Unit 61398 of the Chinese People’s …

Sullivan & Cromwell discusses President Obama’s Executive Order Authorizing Sanctions for Malicious Cyber Activities

By Eric J. Kadel, Jr. and Brent J. McIntosh April 17, 2015 by ilyabeylin

On April 1st, President Obama issued an Executive Order authorizing sanctions against persons found to have engaged in or supported significant malicious cyber activities. Under the order, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to designate and impose sanctions on …

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