Just two weeks after SEC Chair Mary Jo White identified cybersecurity as the "biggest risk facing the financial system," the SEC further strengthened its focus in this area by naming Christopher R. Hetner to the newly-created position of Senior Advisor to the Chair for Cybersecurity Policy. The SEC stated that Hetner will serve as a senior advisor to Chair White on all cybersecurity policy matters, and will be "responsible for coordinating efforts across the agency to address cybersecurity policy, engaging with external stakeholders, and further enhancing the SEC’s mechanisms for assessing broad-based market risk." 

In a statement, Chair White called it "imperative" that the SEC "enhance our coordinated approach to cybersecurity policy across the SEC and engage at the highest levels with market participants and governmental bodies concerning the latest developments in this area." 

 

Hetner joined the SEC in January 2015, where he has served as Cybersecurity Lead for OCIE's Technology Control Program. In that role, Hetner coordinated OCIE's cybersecurity efforts and advised on enforcement matters. Previously, Hetner led the Wealth and Asset Management Sector Cybersecurity practice at Ernst and Young, and was also the Chief Information Security Officer at GE Capital where he was responsible for the global cybersecurity program.

 

The SEC has been increasingly focused on cybersecurity issues in its examinations and enforcement programs. OCIE has made cybersecurity compliance and controls a key part of its Examination Priorities, and the Enforcement Division has brought its first-ever cybersecurity-related enforcement actions against regulated entities in the past year. 

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