SolarWinds executives receive Wells notice from US SEC

SolarWinds announced on Friday that a number of its former and current executives have received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding a significant data breach in 2020 that was linked to the software company.

It is important to note that a Wells notice does not automatically imply any wrongdoing on the part of the recipients. The SEC issues Wells notices as a preliminary step to notify companies about its intention to take enforcement action against them.

In December 2020, the company faced a major cybersecurity crisis in which hackers infiltrated SolarWinds' software updates. This breach allowed them to gain unauthorized access to the data of numerous companies and government offices that utilized SolarWinds' products. The U.S. government has attributed the cyberattack to Russia.

In November of the previous year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a recommendation for an enforcement action against the software firm. The recommendation was related to SolarWinds' public statements regarding cybersecurity and the procedures governing the disclosure of such information.