From: Reuters
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should consider updating its rules to protect against technology failures or cyber attacks of “transfer agent” firms charged with maintaining millions of shareholder accounts, SEC Democratic Commissioner Luis Aguilar said Friday.
Transfer agents are critical gatekeepers in U.S. markets, though they do not often receive much public attention.
They are used by public companies and mutual funds to help track changes in stock ownership, and they also offer a line of defense to help protect against fraudulent acts such as selling unregistered shares in public markets.
“A technological failure or processing glitch by a transfer agent could have serious consequences, including the loss of shareholder information,” said Aguilar, who made his pitch for additional reforms at the Practicing Law Institute’s “SEC Speaks” annual conference.
“There is also the omnipresent threat of a cyber-attack which, in the case of transfer agents, could result in the misappropriation of confidential shareholder information.”
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