On April 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC)'s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations
(OCIE) issued a Risk Alert on its Cybersecurity
Initiative.1 The Alert is intended to provide additional
information concerning the SEC's initiative to assess
cybersecurity preparedness in the securities industry, including
broker-dealers and investment advisers. The SEC has been
increasingly focused on cybersecurity issues, beginning with its
Cybersecurity Disclosure Guidance issued in October of
20112 and most recently with its Cybersecurity
Roundtable3.
In its Alert, the OCIE announced that it will be conducting
examinations of more than 50 registered broker-dealers and
registered investment advisers, focusing on areas relating to
cybersecurity. The initiative is designed to assess cybersecurity
preparedness in the securities industry and obtain information
about the industry's recent experiences with certain types of
cyberthreats.
