Cybersecurity is traditionally driven by a strong combination of uncertainty, doubt, and fear. Today, it's no longer just a matter of cybersecurity, the simple truths about cybersecurity are so frightening that they should not be ignored and instead focus more on cybersecurity education. At least that's what the Allotraveller team of cybersecurity reaserchers found.
In this article we are going to discuss some of the challeges and possible solutions to some cybersecurity threats to asset managers.
Disclaimer: This article is strickly based on years of in-depth research into the topic and what most cybersecurity experts are saying on the world wide web! This is a complex topic and we could not cover everything in a single article such as this. What you have is a much pressed yet highly informative and helpful for asset managers looking to undersdtand cybersecurity. Enjoy!
What the experts are saying about cybersecurity
Paterson is CEO of Digital Shadows, a specialized surveillance and consulting provider, which developed a surveillance system that includes 80 million social media sources in 26 languages. Long conversations with him created enough fear, insecurity, and doubt to lose the relative security of the middle Ages.
In fact, the traditional approach to cybersecurity is to create the medieval data equivalent to store data with thicker, deeper walls and digital trenches. The advent of social media, cloud computing, mobile workers and "bring your device" culture and supply chain extensions make this old approach seem like old news.
Although much of the loss of business due to free internet connection is not as significant, confidential data and documents such as plans, banking network setup details and unpublished records are known to come from an apparently secure environment. Most of this doesn't happen due to hackers or errors, but due to a combination of hard drive manufacturers' negligence, their desire to make their products as easy and simple as user errors.
What Mananged Service Providers Need
Managed service providers (MSPs) and other businesses today require a variety of impressive resources to do their jobs. The right hardware, including desktop computers, laptops, cell phones, tablets, routers, and printers, is very important. From there, each hardware must also be equipped with the appropriate software. This software enables the collection and organization of data representing other important resources.
Businesses need to maintain databases from product details to customer information. After all, a company cannot forget its human resources: the skills, knowledge, and abilities of its workforce can be its most valuable resource.
Cyber ​​security: more than an IT problem for asset managers
What is asset management?
In simple words, asset management means documenting all of the company's tangible and intangible assets. This includes physical resources (hardware and facilities), digital resources (software and data), and human resources (employees and contractors). Successful companies understand Cybersecurity; The need to save everything they use for their business.
However, asset management is more of a deal than once, this is an ongoing process. When hardware is exchanged, software is updated, and employees and customers come and go, resource tracking systems must always be updated to deliver added value.
A rise in vulnerability to cyber attacks
According to cybersecurity experts, asset managers are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks due to the increasing reliance on complex ecosystems for cloud-based providers and services. Research has shown that this sector is lagging behind in protecting your data. A series of recent cyber attacks on asset management firms has to remind asset managers and other institutions of finance that they’re attractive targets for cyber use and stay vigilant, & that they must implement preventive controls and subsequent monitoring procedures and suitable action plans.
Also , there's been few secure to the illegal penetration of cyberspace, & the occurrences of these attacks keeps rising. Fake emails have recently been sent to asset managers and officials. The email informs the recipient that they’ve an encrypted invoice that can be accessed by clicking on the link. Click the link to download the malicious software onto the user's computer, gain permit to the user's account, and then be able to penetrate the institutional system.
Why asset managers must make cybersecurity a priority
While this and other similar computing systems may seem suspiciously transparent and easily recognizable efforts by forceful force penetration, the costs can be enormous for companies, with most estimates surpassing $ fifty billion a year. Given the number of emails sent and received by Wealth Management & other financial firms as an important part of daily activities, even the cyber attacks most transparent can be successful from time to time.
Also, not all attacks are transparent and blunt. Cybercriminals use increasingly sophisticated systems and technologies. Recently The Wall Street Journal reported computer fraud that involved the utilization of artificial intelligence software that rattled the company's CEO and called its subsidiary for wire transfers worth $ 243,000.
Since telephone verification happens to be a commonly recommended recommendation for suspicious emails, the idea of sophisticated language identification highlights the requirement for more specialized controls and procedures.
More reasons to prioritize cybersecurity
Regulators realize that multi-finance companies pose a unique risk and make cybersecurity to be a high priority. They urged companies to take preventive and corrective measures to combat cyber attacks. For instance, the SEC Compliance Division's IT unit (established in 2017) is giving the task of investigating cyber security at regulated companies and reporting cyber security incidents & risks to publishers. Compliance with inspections and controls OCIE SEC continues to consider cyber security as one of its control priorities.
This attention is accompanied by increased research and law enforcement efforts. In the month of September, the CFTC arrived at a $ 1.5 million settlement (including fines and refunds) with futures commission operators for failing to avoid & therefore revealing a phishing attack which was successful that resulted in fraudulent withdrawals. $ 1 million client funds.
The CFTC exactly states that the Company has violated provisions 166.3 & 1.55 (i), that the CFTC interprets that they require a mechanism to detect and prevent cyber security violations and require (at least in some instances) violations of cyber security disclosure.
In the previous September, the SEC filed Voya Financial Advisors Inc. a lawsuit. Bearing a $ one million fine for allegedly failing to protect Voya's confidential client information & preventing identity theft associated with the 2016 cyber attack. The previous October, SEC released the report about its investigations of publicly-listed issuers who were the victims of the cyber fraud, resulting in losses of almost $ one hundred million & whether the issuer was responsible for insufficient controls of internal accounting.
Which can prevent loss The SEC finally chose not to take any law enforcement action against this publisher, but their report gave a clear signal that the SEC wouldn’t treat financial corporations only as victims of cybercrime unless they have a strong deterrence, oversight, improvement and have not introduced disclosure mechanisms.
What do asset managers and other companies have to do with access to great funds?
The answer is complex and simple:
The organization must also develop an action strategy in the form of clear and well thought-out procedures and policies to respond to cyberspace penetration when and when this happens. This should be part of the overall business crisis management plan.
Companies should consider bringing together technical experts, managers, and consultants who can quickly initiate the necessary disclosure procedures and mitigation. Appropriate procedures and policies not just ensure compliance with laws, but can also increase the likelihood of finding stolen data and funds, as well as the authors of the data.
Bottom Line
Regardless of how strong preventive access control, monitoring procedures, and technical protection of the organization are, some cyber attacks must be violated (even if they do not provide data or resources). However, this control remains the first primary line of defense to prevent and reduce most cyber attacks. Above all, regulators expect them to be in place and continually updated.
