The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement is stepping up investigative efforts looking at registered firms’ use of personal devices for business communications, which can implicate their recordkeeping obligations and result in failure to retain and produce responsive business-related communications in SEC investigations. These risks are particularly acute in the current work-from-home posture at many firms, where employees may more easily blur the line between personal and business communications. Firms should review their policies, procedures, and communication monitoring to ensure that employees are not engaging in business-related communications outside of the firm’s official channels and in a manner that the firm is unable to capture and preserve if required.

(more…)