US SEC dismisses case against SolarWinds, top security officer

By Chris Prentice

(Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on ​Thursday said it has dropped its closely watched ‌litigation against SolarWinds Corp and its top security officer that was tied ‌to a Russia-linked cyberattack involving the software firm.

The landmark case, which SEC brought in late 2023, rattled the cybersecurity community and later faced scrutiny ⁠from a judge who ‌dismissed many of the charges. The SEC had said SolarWinds and its chief ‍information security officer had violated U.S. securities laws by concealing vulnerabilities in connection with the high-profile 2020 Sunburst ​cyber attack.

The SEC, SolarWinds and CISO Timothy Brown ‌filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss the case with prejudice, according to a joint stipulation posted on the agency’s website. In July, the parties asked for a pause in court proceedings while ⁠they negotiated a resolution.

A SolarWinds ​spokesperson said in a statement the ​firm is “clearly delighted” with the dismissal.

“We hope this resolution eases the concerns ‍many CISOs ⁠have voiced about this case and the potential chilling effect it threatened to impose on their work,⁠” the spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice;‌ Additional reporting by AJ Vincens in Detroit;‌ Editing by Cynthia Osterman)