SEC Establishes New Unit to Combat Cyber Misconduct and Protect Emerging Technology Retail Investors
February 21, 2025
As part of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) new enforcement priorities, the agency recently announced the creation of a Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (“CETU”), designed to combat “cyber-related misconduct and protect retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technologies space.”1 The SEC said that the CETU—which replaces the Enforcement Division’s former Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit—is staffed with an estimated 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across the agency. The CETU will focus on the following SEC priorities:
- fraud using emerging technologies, such as AI and machine learning;
- the use of social media and online platforms to perpetrate fraud;
- hacking of material, nonpublic information;
- takeovers of retail brokerage accounts;
- fraud involving blockchain technology and digital assets;
- noncompliance with cybersecurity rules and regulations; and
- public issuer fraudulent disclosures related to cybersecurity.
Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said the new unit will complement the SEC’s recently formed Crypto Task Force2 and “will also facilitate capital formation and market efficiency by clearing the way for innovation to grow.”
The creation of the CETU demonstrates that the SEC will devote resources to cybersecurity matters, protecting investors, and addressing fraud facilitated by emerging technologies.
1U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Announces Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit to Protect Retail Investors, (Feb. 20, 2025).
2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Crypto 2.0: Acting Chairman Uyeda Announces Formation of New Crypto Task Force, (Jan. 21, 2025).
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