“We believe the intrusion did not result in unauthorized access to personally identifiable information," SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images SEC discloses cybersecurity breach

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said its “EDGAR” public-company filing system had been hacked.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said in a statement that last month "the Commission learned that an incident previously detected in 2016 may have provided the basis for illicit gain through trading."


“Specifically, a software vulnerability in the test filing component of our EDGAR system, which was patched promptly after discovery, was exploited and resulted in access to nonpublic information," Clayton said.

“We believe the intrusion did not result in unauthorized access to personally identifiable information, jeopardize the operations of the Commission, or result in systemic risk,” he said. “Our investigation of this matter is ongoing, however, and we are coordinating with appropriate authorities."

The disclosure came as part of a broader statement by Clayton about cybersecurity.

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EDGAR has been manipulated previously, and it has drawn bipartisan scrutiny. In May 2015, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked the SEC for information about EDGAR vulnerabilities after an apparent hoax involving Avon Products Inc.

In October 2014, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) raised concerns after an academic study revealed that stock prices were moving about 30 seconds prior to public filings being made available on the SECs website.

Clayton is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.