Securities and Exchange Commission v. SolarWinds Corp.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:23-cv-09518
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Securities and Exchange Commission v. SolarWinds Corp., Judge Engelmayer granted defendants’ request to seal a cybersecurity incident-response plan exhibit.
SolarWinds Corp. and Timothy G. Brown, whose Exhibit 17 may be filed under seal; the public, whose access to that exhibit is restricted.
What happened
In Securities and Exchange Commission v. SolarWinds Corp., SolarWinds Corp. and Timothy G. Brown asked the court for permission to file Exhibit 17 to their motion to dismiss under seal. The exhibit concerned SolarWinds’ cybersecurity incident-response plan.
The defendants said the document contained confidential, sensitive business information. They also said public disclosure could weaken SolarWinds’ ability to respond to cyber incidents because future attackers could exploit the information.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer granted the request to file the exhibit under seal. The order did not decide the underlying claims or the motion to dismiss.
The detailed version
- Securities and Exchange Commission v. SolarWinds Corp. · No. 1:23-cv-09518
- Paul Engelmayer
- Mar. 25, 2024
Background
SolarWinds Corp. and Timothy G. Brown, identified together as the defendants, sought permission to file Exhibit 17 to their motion to dismiss the amended complaint under seal. The exhibit was described as SolarWinds’ cybersecurity incident-response plan.
Basis for Sealing
The defendants argued that the exhibit contained confidential and sensitive business information. They further argued that public disclosure could undermine SolarWinds’ ability to respond to cyber incidents because a future threat actor could use the information to attack its services. The defendants stated that they would file the proposed sealed document through the court’s electronic filing system.
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer granted the request. The order allowed Exhibit 17 to be filed under seal. It addressed the filing of the exhibit, not the merits of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s claims or the defendants’ motion to dismiss.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.