White Paper Asks: 'Is Your Firm Doing All it can to Protect its Data Properly?'

NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybercrime continues to be a very serious problem in the financial industry, as the recently revealed hacks of the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) network and Equifax's website demonstrated, making External IT's latest white paper, "Is Your Firm Doing All it can to Protect its Data Properly?—Observations from the Field," especially timely. The new report follows on the heels of the latest cybersecurity risk alert from the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), and offers real-world guidance on the security issues financial firms face on a daily basis.

The white paper can be downloaded from the External IT website: http://info.externalit.com/is-your-firm-doing-all-it-can-to-protect-its-data-properly 

The OCIE alert was issued after a sweep of 75 firms registered with the SEC that looked at the validation and testing of procedures and controls around cybersecurity.

"Dealing with cybersecurity incidents is not a question of 'if' it happens, but rather 'when'," said Justin Kapahi, Vice President of Solutions & Security at External IT. "We applaud the OCIE initiatives but believe their recommendations are a bit broad and hard for advisors, especially those who don't have expertise in security and IT, to follow." 

Financial advisors, who often don't have extensive technical resources, are prime targets for cyberattacks because of the nature of the customer data they hold. They also bear a fiduciary, regulatory, and compliance responsibility to protect their customer data in an increasingly complex environment. In response to the need for additional practical guidance, External IT's white paper details the firm's observations in the field and offers suggestions for implementing strong cybersecurity practices.

Along with other guidance, the white paper suggests that advisory firms focus on:

• Implementing and documenting proper controls.
• Enforcing and testing these controls.
• Implementing security training programs.
• Evaluating risk and data exposure.
• Performing thorough due diligence on vendors.

"With these practices implemented, firms can stay ahead of federal and state regulations because any response to a new rule won't require a dramatic overhaul to their IT and cyber program," added Mr. Kapahi. "The cyber threat is real, and advisors who are unprepared should seriously consider partnering with an IT provider specializing in the financial sector to help them secure their firm's data as well as to meet regulatory requirements."

External IT presented the white paper at the 2017 eMoney Advisor Summit. To join the conversation around the event on Twitter, follow #eMoneySummit17.

About External IT 
External IT provides workplace wealth_, a secure digital hub which enables financial services organizations to aggregate their IT—all their apps and data—in a centralized cloud where they can be secured and controlled, while giving employees the flexibility to access all their tools and information from any firm-approved device, anywhere.

For more information about External IT, please visit www.externalit.com and follow us on Twitter at @externalit.

SOURCE External IT

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