A U.S. district court dismissed all the SEC’s securities fraud and false filings claims against SolarWinds and its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Timothy Brown regarding the adequacy of cyberattack disclosures, finding that the SEC had impermissibly relied on “hindsight and speculation” to find those disclosures fraudulent. The court also dismissed the SEC’s claims that SolarWinds’ cybersecurity deficiencies amounted to deficient internal accounting controls, finding that the SEC had stretched the definition of “accounting” past its limit.

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Photo of Tracy S. Combs Tracy S. Combs

A former Regional Director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tracy counsels corporations, financial institutions, and individuals regarding complex investigations, litigation, and regulatory matters, including those involving the SEC, the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and other law enforcement…

A former Regional Director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tracy counsels corporations, financial institutions, and individuals regarding complex investigations, litigation, and regulatory matters, including those involving the SEC, the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and other law enforcement agencies and financial regulators.

Photo of Steven M. Malina Steven M. Malina

Steven M. Malina, a former Senior Attorney in the SEC’s enforcement branch, focuses his practice on a variety of litigation and regulatory matters with representations of financial services industry clients, hedge fund matters, and securities and general commercial litigation. He represents officers, directors,

Steven M. Malina, a former Senior Attorney in the SEC’s enforcement branch, focuses his practice on a variety of litigation and regulatory matters with representations of financial services industry clients, hedge fund matters, and securities and general commercial litigation. He represents officers, directors, broker-dealers, investment advisors, commercial banks, investment banks, investment management firms, and public issuers in investigations and disciplinary proceedings initiated by the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, FDIC, NYSE, CBOE, CME, and state regulators. In addition, Steve represents clients in related investor class-action, derivative, and other litigation and arbitration. He has also conducted internal investigations on behalf of publicly traded companies and represented committees and executive officers in internal investigations. Steve has represented brokerage firms and their management in customer-initiated cases, and injunction and arbitration proceedings.

Prior to entering private practice, Steve served as First Vice President and Deputy Regional Counsel for a large financial corporation and was a Senior Attorney in the Branch of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Photo of Jena M. Valdetero Jena M. Valdetero

Jena M. Valdetero serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s U.S. Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice where she advises clients on complex data privacy and security issues. She has led more than 1,000 data breach investigations. A litigator by background, Jena defends companies against…

Jena M. Valdetero serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s U.S. Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice where she advises clients on complex data privacy and security issues. She has led more than 1,000 data breach investigations. A litigator by background, Jena defends companies against privacy and data breach litigation, with an emphasis on class action lawsuits. She has designed and conducted dozens of data breach tabletop exercises to empower clients to respond effectively to a data security incident. She also counsels companies on data privacy and security compliance programs and advises on privacy and cyber risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and securities. Jena also advises a diverse array of clients on compliance with existing and emerging privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She is a certified privacy professional through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (CIPP/US), for which she is a former KnowledgeNet Co-Chair.

Photo of Nair Marie Banks ˘ Nair Marie Banks ˘

Nair Marie Banks ˘ is a Summer Associate based in Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office.

˘ Not admitted to the practice of law.