Pearson agrees to pay a $1 million fine to settle charges from U.S securities regulators that it misled investors about a 2018 data breach.
- A London based publishing and education giant, Pearson, agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges that it misled investors about a 2018 intrusion resulting in the theft of millions of student records.
- The SEC criticised Pearson’s internal processes for handling disclosure as lacking.
Pearson agrees to pay a $1 million fine to settle charges from U.S securities regulators that it misled investors about a 2018 data breach.
Pearson agreed to pay a $1 million civil money penalty to settle charges "without admitting or denying the findings" that it tried to hide and downplay the 2018 data breach that led to the theft of "student data and administrator log-in credentials of 13,000 schools, district and university customer accounts" in the United States.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission notified the settlement on Monday after the agency found that Pearson made “misleading statements and omissions” about its 2018 intrusion, involving the theft of student data along with the administrator log-in credentials of 13,000 schools district and university customer accounts.
“As the order finds, Pearson opted not to reveal this breach to investors until it was contacted by the media, and even then Pearson understated the nature and scope of the incident and overstated the company’s data protection,” said Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC enforcement division’s cyber unit.
"As public companies face the growing threat of cyber intrusions, they must submit accurate information to investors about material cyber incidents.”
Without confessing or denying the SEC's findings, Pearson decided to cease committing violations of these provisions and pay a $1 million civil penalty.
Pearson said it was “pleased to resolve this matter with the SEC”, adding: “We also appreciate the work of the FBI and the Justice Department to identify and charge those accountable for a global cyberattack that impacted Pearson and many other companies and industries, including at least one government agency.”
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