SEC Guidance Directed At Intel?

Guidance the SEC issued Feb. 20 appears to be a direct response to Intel’s handling of the security breaches known as “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” according to the Portland Business Journal. The 24-page document says companies should tell investors about cybersecurity risks and incidents in a “timely fashion,” and have procedures in place to figure out the impact of such incidents on business, operations and whether such an incident has a material effect. The commission also noted that executives and other company officers “must not trade a public company’s securities while in possession of material nonpublic information, which may include knowledge regarding a significant cybersecurity incident experienced by the company. Shareholders have sued Intel’s board plus CEO Brian Krzanich and CFO Robert Swan on behalf of the company, and Krzanich is facing scrutiny over stock sales he made last fall, after he knew of the security vulnerabilities but before they were made public. A spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment on whether Krzanich’s trades were under investigation.