Author: Michael Volkov

22 Jul, 2024

SEC Suffers Major Blow in Securities Fraud Case Against SolarWinds

A New Your federal district judge handed down a significant decision dismissing much of the SEC’s securities fraud enforcement action against SolarWinds arising from its claims relating to SolarWinds’ cybersecurity policies, and disclosure of a significant cyberattack against the SolarWinds’ network. In an unprecedented case, the SEC alleged that SolarWinds, which went public in 2018, mislead the public as to the effectiveness of its cybersecurity...

Podcasts

21 Jul, 2024

Episode 330 – Halyna Senyk on Anti-Corruption Progress in Ukraine

Halyna Senyk, a Senior Program advisor from the CEELI Institute, joins us to discuss anti-corruption progress and challenges in the Ukraine. Halyna is responsible for managing the CEELI Institute’s anti-corruption portfolio. Based in Prague, the CEELI Institute focuses on promoting the rule of law through professional training programs for judges, law enforcement, lawyers, prosecutors, civil society representatives and investigative journalists. While its main activities are...

General

19 Jul, 2024

NAVEX’s Report on the State of Compliance: Positive News with Serious Gaps Noted

NAVEX delivers quality studies and important insights on ethics and compliance topics. In its 2024 State of Risk & Compliance, NAVEX provides a comprehensive report on current trends and practices involving risk and compliance management. The Report reflects the survey results from over 1,000 respondents global who influence or manage their organization’s risk and compliance programs. Over half of the respondents came from the United...

General

17 Jul, 2024

District Court Rejects Challenges to ITAR Criminal Charges

On July 9, 2024, District Judge David Hale in Kentucky denied motions to dismiss and motions to suppress filed by four defendants against a criminal case involving ITAR charges for illegal exports of sensitive, defense-related diagrams to Chinese companies. The Justice Department has charged Quadrant Magnetics LLC and three executives, Phil Pascoe, Scott Tubbs, and Monica Pascoe in a nine-count indictment for the illegal shipment...

General

16 Jul, 2024

SEC Expands Internal Controls Provision to Cover Cybersecurity Incidents and Reaches $2.1 Million Settlement with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

In a significant expansion of internal controls enforcement, the SEC announced a $2.1 million settlement with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (“RRD”) for its handling of a 2021 ransomware attack and resulting disclosure failures. The settlement represents the SEC’s first application of its internal controls enforcement authority to include cybersecurity policies and procedures. In 2021, RRD suffered a cyber attack in which a threat actor...

Events

15 Jul, 2024

Webinar: Building an Effective Cybersecurity Governance and Risk Mitigation Program

July 30, 2024, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here Companies have identified cybersecurity risks as the number one threat to their organizations. Companies are experiencing an increasing number of cybersecurity incidents. As a result, companies face serious regulatory enforcement actions, reputational harm and collateral damage. To mitigate these risks, companies have to build an effective cybersecurity program, including governance requirements, policies and procedures, and comprehensive...

Podcasts

14 Jul, 2024

Episode 329 — Bryn Sedlacek from Aravo on TPRM Holistic Risks and Unitary Visibility

Bryn Sedlacek, Vice President, Product Management at Aravo, joins us on the podcast to discuss third-party risk management with a focus on holistic risks and unitary visibility. In a wide-ranging discussion, Mike Volkov and Bryn Sedlacek discuss the challenges in implementing a third-party risk management program that captures holistic risks and maintains a consistent, unified line of sight across the organization’s risk profile. As part...

General

11 Jul, 2024

Supreme Court Continues to Pare Back Criminal Laws

In a pair of rulings issued near the end of the last Term, Fischer v. United States and Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court continued to cut back on the Justice Department’s interpretation and enforcement of criminal laws. The Supreme Court continues to display a distrust or basic misunderstanding of prosecutorial discretion (one Justice referencing during oral argument the old adage that a prosecutor...

General

9 Jul, 2024

Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference Rule

In a historic decision, the Supreme Court struck down the forty-year-old agency deference rule established in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In two separate decisions, the Supreme Court ruled in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, the Court ruled that that § 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) gives courts the ultimate authority to interpret statutes...

Podcasts

7 Jul, 2024

Episode 328 — Sanctions Enforcement and Red Lines

In this new era of aggressive sanctions enforcement, companies have to understand the red lines that define where criminal and civil enforcement risk increase. In contrast to the history of FCPA enforcement, DOJ and OFAC have provided helpful guidance to alert companies where risks are likely to increase. Sanctions enforcement involves an off mix of civil and criminal line drawing. On the civil side, OFAC...