Judge Guts SEC Case Against SolarWinds Over Cyber Practices

A US federal judge dismissed much of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against SolarWinds Corp. that alleged the software provider misled investors about its cybersecurity practices and the significance of a major data breach that spilled into the US government.

Thursday’s ruling was seen as a blow to the SEC’s aggressive efforts to regulate the cybersecurity practices of publicly traded companies, actions that had created significant angst among the private sector and from security practitioners.

But the agency’s case wasn’t entirely dismissed. US District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York allowed the SEC to ...