Client Alert: The SEC Charges SolarWinds And Its CISO With Fraud: Key Takeaways

This week, the SEC filed a high-profile litigation asserting fraud and internal controls charges against software company SolarWinds Corporation and its Chief Information Security Officer, Timothy G. Brown, in connection with a massive 2020 breach of SolarWinds' network monitoring software system, Orion.¹ The charges against SolarWinds and Brown were long-anticipated following SolarWinds' announcements in October 2022 and June 2023 that the company, its CFO, and CISO had received Wells Notices from the SEC indicating an intention to charge each of them.²

The SEC alleges that SolarWinds, which provides various information technology management services to customers, exaggerated the steps it took to prevent cybersecurity incidents and then failed to tell the whole truth after if it learned of a massive breach of its signature network monitoring system that impacted many of its key customers. According to public reporting, the SolarWinds' customers impacted by the