7 tips to tackle cyber threats

We recently held a webinar with Fraser Jack, founder of The Cyber Collective , and Sonya Choi La Rosa, General Manager Technology and Operations at Diverger, to discuss how financial advisers can protect their clients and business from cyber threats.

While it’s easy to be intimidated by the concept of cybersecurity, Fraser and Sonya stressed that there are plenty of ways to get started. Here are their top tips for financial advisers and business owners:

1. Have a three-pronged cyber protection plan

A strong cyber protection plan can provide a level of comfort to your clients while increasing the confidence and capability of your team. Fraser believes the best approach is to have a plan for what to do before, during and after a cyber-attack.

“The plan before an attack involves understanding and minimising your risks. Having a plan for your staff to follow during an attack means they’re trained on what to do and how to do it. It’s a pressure situation, so you don’t want to be making that plan on the go. After an attack, the plan might involve picking up your business, strengthening your cybersecurity maturity levels and claiming on your cybersecurity insurance.”

2. use a password manager and multi-factor authentication

Sonya said this is one of the simplest ways to increase your protection against cyber threats.

“Don’t keep passwords on spreadsheets or in your OneDrive. And make sure you’ve turned on multi-factor authentication. It’s not necessarily going to give you 100% protection, but it will slow things down in the event of a cyber threat.”

3. choose safety over speed

Fraser emphasised that exercising caution and taking time to double-check things can make a big difference to your cyber threat resilience – even if it has a small negative impact on your productivity.

“Just like a speed sign on a dangerous corner, adding extra layers like calling a client to verify an email will slow you down, but it will also help keep you safe.”

4. pay attention to your third-party providers

Sonya said she places a lot of focus on third-party providers because they can be a weak spot for your business if they’re not storing and managing your data appropriately.

“Go through all your applications and understand what protections your third-party providers have in place if something goes wrong. Make sure you’re comfortable with their approach and check that it’s up to standard.”

5. understand the risks of email

“Don’t leave sensitive content sitting in your email because it creates another vulnerability point,” Fraser said. “Think of it as the letterbox outside your house that doesn’t have the same security as you do inside your house. If someone gets into your inbox, or your client’s sent mail, they could find tax returns and copies of ID sitting right there in plain sight to be taken.”

6. think of cybersecurity as an opportunity for progress

“Advisers who have been through this process are improving their tech stacks and the way they do things,” Sonya said. “They’re looking at how they can engage with their clients differently to reduce risk and create more efficiency. For example, introducing a client portal and digital signatures. Focusing on cybersecurity has propelled them forward, which has been really positive.”

7. make ongoing cybersecurity costs a budget line item

Fraser explained that this can change the way you think about cybersecurity systems, insurance and training.

“It might take up 2% of your revenue and 1% of your time. But the flip side of not doing that is potentially catastrophic conversations with your clients and the loss of business valuation that could go along with it. It’s an easy decision.”

Watch our webinar to find out more

Watch our HUBinsights webinar to hear Fraser and Sonya share their valuable tips about how to protect your clients and business from cyber threats.

Watch now