Security Staff Acquisition & Development, Americas, Content, Vertical markets

SEC Hires Chief Risk Officer to Boost Cybersecurity Efforts

The Securities and Exchange Commission has hired Gabriel Benincasa as the SEC's first chief risk officer (CRO). He will focus on strengthening the agency’s risk management and cybersecurity efforts.

Benincasa joins the SEC at a key time. The agency -- like the overall federal government -- faces growing cyber threats from nation sponsored attackers worldwide. A serious case in point: The SEC in January 2019 announced charges against nine defendants for allegedly participating in a scheme to hack into the SEC’s EDGAR database and extract nonpublic information to use for illegal trading.

Now, the SEC has Benincasa as a leader to identify, mitigate and fight such threats. Benincasa's resume is packed with such experience. He previously held executive-level risk management positions at such firms as CIT, Quad Capital, Investment Technology Group and Credit Suisse First Boston. He also is an attorney and a certified public accountant.

Julie Erhardt, who had been serving as acting chief risk officer, returns to her role as deputy chief accountant for technology and innovation in the Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.