US judge dismisses most of SEC lawsuit against SolarWinds over cyberattack

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge has dismissed much of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing software company SolarWinds of defrauding investors by hiding security flaws before and after a massive cyberattack on the U.S. government .

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan said the SEC can pursue a securities fraud allegation based on a statement on SolarWinds’ website before the so-called Sunburst attack on the company’s cybersecurity practices.

He rejected all other claims based on pre-Sunburst disclosures and said that all claims relating to post-Sunburst disclosures were based on “hindsight and speculation” and also required dismissal.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)