A former SEC Chair spoke at a Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance conference and said board members “should be knowledgeable about data inventories, where data is located and if it is protected, and use third-party services to test its safety” as reported by BusinessInsurance.com. Mary L. Schapiro (SEC chairman from 2009-2012) currently serves on the board of General Electric and discussed cyber risks during her keynote address at the 2015 Professional Liability Underwriting Society D&O Symposium in New York where she stated that “boards really need to drive management on this issue” because of the potential fallout from cyber-related losses.
Ms. Schapiro “also said there now is pressure on Capitol Hill to codify the SEC’s guidance on companies’ disclosure of cyber threats, which was issued in 2011.”
As cyber intrusions continue to escalate it’s no surprise that Ms. Schapiro made these comments.