Sydney, 5th March 2025 – HUB24 and myprosperity (part of the HUB24 Group) have launched a digital education resource to help financial advisers navigate the cyber landscape and to address the increasing risk of cyber security attacks.
In collaboration with other industry experts, HUB24 and myprosperity have created CyberHUB to deliver interactive content including insights, tips and case studies to educate and enhance financial advisers’ knowledge of cyber security and the solutions available to them to help mitigate the risks.
Last financial year, the Australian Cyber Security Centre received more than 36,700 calls to its Cyber Security Hotline, an increase of 12% from the previous year, with the average cost of cybercrime for a small business increasing 8% to $49,600, and $62,800 for a medium business.1
Over the past 12 months, exposure to cyber security threats has emerged as an increasing risk for licensees and financial advisers due to the large volume of sensitive client data required to build tailored financial plans for their clients, and the reliance on email to exchange this information. As of 31 December 2024, technology research and solutions consultancy Finura Group found 69% of advisers send documents such as Statements of Advice (SOAs) by email.
Given more than 27% of licensees are privately owned and made up of 1-10 advisers, smaller businesses often lack the resources to identify and manage cyber incidents, making them vulnerable to attacks.2
According to HUB24 Executive Group Strategy, Greg Hansen, advice practices are increasingly sharing their experiences and are seeking solutions to address their security concerns.
“Advisers want to be more productive, but with emerging technology comes new risks including cybercrime, which is not only on the rise, but leaves financial professionals significantly exposed given the large amount of personal information they rely upon to provide tailored financial advice.”
The HUB24 Group is investing in technology solutions to enable financial professionals to leverage technology to enhance productivity and enable accessible advice for more Australians.
Client portals such as myprosperity play a critical role in strengthening cyber resilience in advice practices and empower advisers to enhance client engagement and drive business efficiencies.
“Most advisers and licensees understand it is not a case of if a cyber incident occurs, but when, and this is motivating them to find a solution and integrate it efficiently into their businesses,” said Tracy Williams, General Manager, myprosperity.
Once advisers have adopted an effective client portal solution, advisers and their clients experience the broader benefits a client portal can provide beyond facilitating trust and security to include better client service and collaboration with other financial professionals.
“Advisers are increasingly recognising the range of benefits client portals can provide their clients as well as their capability to strengthen value propositions,” said Williams. “It comes at an important time in the advice industry’s evolution where trust, security and service, are top of mind for clients.”
For more information visit hub24.com.au/cyberhub to access a range of multimedia content, with CPD accreditation to be released in the coming weeks.
1Australian Signals Directorate Annual Cyber Threat Report 2023-2024
2 Q4 2024 Adviser Musical Chairs Report Adviser Ratings – https://pro.adviserratings.com.au/docs/Musical_Chairs_Report_2024_Q4.pdf