March 9, 2017
Beware of “Virus-Infected” Emails Purportedly From the SEC!!!
Whoa! Last week, a member received an email claiming to be from EDGAR/SEC that had an attachment for revised 10-K filing instructions. She forwarded the email to her IT department – & it turned out the attachment was a “very nasty piece of malware” that could have infected the entire company. It was a phished email that came from a SEC email address (filings@sec.gov) with a subject line of “Important changes to Form 10-K and Instructions.”
So beware! This is quite a tailored type of malicious email for an in-house lawyer to be receiving! Yesterday, the SEC posted a notice about this phishing scam – see this Fortune article…
How Nasdaq Handles Its FAQs
Recently, a member asked how to best navigate “Nasdaq’s FAQs.” There is this “advanced search” function, which include both open-ended search boxes and topical categories in two drop-down boxes (ie. “Category” and “Sub-Category”).
Each FAQ has its own “Identification Number,” which is now prominently displayed at the end of the Search Results Bar. To search by these ID Numbers, select “Material with this Identification Number” from the Find drop down field. You can also choose to search by date to find what’s new. FAQs can also be shared through email by selecting the envelope icon (or Mailto Link) displayed on the bottom right of each FAQ. Other content in Nasdaq’s Reference Library can be searched in the same way.
Nasdaq also recently added a “Google Site” search function to its “Listing Center” that allows users to search all content available on the Listing Center – including the “Reference Library” – in one place.
Reform: More on the “Rule Reduction” Executive Order
Earlier this week, the White House’s Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs issued this memo to federal agencies, reminding them of their obligations set forth in this executive order – and requiring agencies to submit regulatory reduction plans by the end of this month. Although the executive order doesn’t apply to the SEC, the White House has made it clear that it expects independent agencies – like the SEC – to fall in line…
Meanwhile, as noted in this Bloomberg article, it appears that the SEC has imposed a hiring freeze & non-essential travel ban in anticipation of budget cuts…
– Broc Romanek – still employed (but the day is young)…