by Charu A. Chandrasekhar, Erez Liebermann, Benjamin R. Pedersen, Paul M. Rodel, Matt Kelly, Anna Moody, John Jacob, and Talia Lorch
Top (left to right): Charu A. Chandrasekhar, Erez Liebermann, Benjamin R. Pedersen, and Paul M. Rodel. Bottom (left to right): Matt Kelly, Anna Moody, John Jacob, and Talia Lorch. (Photos of courtesy of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)
On December 18, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) rule requiring disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents became effective. To date, 26 companies have reported a cybersecurity incident under the new Item 1.05 of Form 8-K (“Item 1.05”). After over a year of mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting, we examine the key trends and takeaways.
Key Takeaways from a Year of Cybersecurity Incident Reporting on Form 8-K
In early 2024, companies filed a flurry of Forms 8-K under Item 1.05, which stated that the relevant cybersecurity incidents did not have material impacts on the companies’ financial conditions or results of operations. These disclosures were in response to the SEC’s rules requiring that cybersecurity incident disclosures include a description of “the material aspects of the nature, scope, and timing of the incident, and the material impact or reasonably likely material impact on the issuer, including its financial condition and results of operations.” Following these disclosures, the SEC clarified its expectations for cybersecurity incident reporting in a statement issued by the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Statement”), as well as through several comment letters issued by the Staff of the SEC (the “Staff”) to companies which filed Item 1.05 Forms 8-K.
