Calling All Boards Of Directors: Four Recommendations From The SEC

SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar recently spoke at the New York Stock Exchange Conference "Cyber Risks and the Boardroom." In his speech, Commissioner Aguilar emphasized the importance of cybersecurity and how fast the need for cybersecurity has grown in such a short time period, pointing out that U.S. companies experienced a 42% increase between 2011 and 2012 in the number of successful cyber-attacks they incurred per week. He cautioned,

"[B]oards that choose to ignore, or minimize, the importance of cybersecurity oversight responsibility, do so at their own peril."

Commissioner Aguilar highlighted the broad duties that a board owes to the corporation. He proffered that the board's general role in corporate governance and overseeing risk management provides the foundation for a board's role in addressing cybersecurity issues. He acknowledged that boards are already responsible for overseeing the management of all types of risk, including credit risk, liquidity risk,