SEC Enforcement’s Annual Report Prioritizes Retail Investors, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, and Individual Accountability

The Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released its annual enforcement report(“Report”) for fiscal year 2018. The Report reflects an increased focus on retail investors, cryptocurrency, cybercrime, and individual accountability. Further, it showcases that SEC enforcement continues to be robust under the Trump administration, despite industry and media expectations to the contrary.

Cybercrime is also a growing area of concern for the SEC, with more than 225 active investigations this past year. Notably, in many of these investigations, companies that were victims of cyberattacks are now under investigation for how they responded to the attacks. The Enforcement Division brought proceedings against companies based on failures in those companies’ cybersecurity policies and procedures related to cyber intrusions. MORE