‘We Are Cop on the Beat’ With Cybersecurity, Says SEC Chairman

• SEC Chairman states that the SEC is working on policies for cybersecurity.
• October has been the month of cybersecurity awareness since 2004.
• SEC is working on multiple projects in the face of the growing challenges in the industry.

On October 31, Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), shared a Twitter post to assure the community trading within cyberspace that the SEC was working on policies to ensure that those involved in online trade are not spooked as to where their data is.

Gensler specifically mentioned that they (SEC) are working on cybersecurity and cyber hygiene policies around public issuers’ incident reporting and on data privacy in relation to the financial sector.

In the introductory part of the clip embedded in the Twitter post, Gensler reminisced the viewers that the President and the Congress in tandem have designated October as the cybersecurity awareness month since 2004.

Moreover, Gensler highlighted that cybersecurity was crucial when it comes to financial stability. As such, he pledged that the SEC was vigilant about the issues happening within the space.

In addition, Gensler stated:

And here at the Securities Exchange Commission, we are cop on the beat when it comes to certain cybersecurity issues in the financial sector.

Subsequently, Gensler hinged on the “Regulation S-P,” which requires broker-dealers, investment companies, and investment advisors to protect customer records and information.

Furthermore, he quoted an example where the SEC charged Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,(Morgan Stanley Wealth Management) an investment management and financial services company, as it failed to protect the information and private data of its 15 million customers.

Towards the latter part of the clip, Gensler stated that the challenges within the cybersecurity space were growing, as such, the SEC was working on multiple projects on cybersecurity and hygiene in the financial sector.