Basic file backup is now bare minimum for financial professionals. Losing important client files is not a risk you can afford to take.

In times of fluctuating geopolitical cybersecurity issues, ensuring that both your information is secure is paramount. Cybercrimes can put your practice—and your reputation—at risk by infiltrating your business and exposing both client and personal information.

Staying prepared is essential. That means knowing if you’re prepared is crucial, regardless of the scale of your business.

Five questions to determine your cybersecurity readiness

  1. Are you using home networks?

    Home networks—a group of home devices that connect to the internet and each other—tend to invite more potential for malicious attacks. They are typically easier to penetrate compared to a corporation. This can put your devices at risk if you’re not well protected by more advanced cybersecurity.

    Betting your business on the security of your home network can be a costly mistake—not just in terms of downtime you might experience from an attack, but from potential reputational damage and trust from those you have promised to serve.

  2. Do you have a 24/7 cybersecurity team?

    Crypto-ransomware, point-of-entry attacks, and vulnerabilities in your operating system are the three of the most common ways cybercriminals can get access to your valuable information.

    Regular antivirus products miss an average of 57% of these attacks. And these attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Without a 24/7 antivirus threat detection program—hunting, detecting, and remediating attacks as soon as they occur—you may be at risk.

  3. Do you have basic file backup?

    Basic file backup is now bare minimum for financial professionals. Losing important client files is not a risk you can afford to take. And having files backed up helps protect you in the case of a ransomware attack.

  4. Do you have continual compliance monitoring and remediation?

    An optimal compliance monitoring tool is one that monitors for devices that may not be compliant and fixes the issue or initiates fix with the user. This can range from something simple, like your device not locking after 15 minutes of inactivity, or a device not being whole-disk encrypted. With a compliance monitoring and remediation tool running 24/7, you’ll be free to do what you do best, instead of having to attend to and resolve compliance issues.

  5. Are you re-using your passwords?

    Did you know that even using semi-predictable passwords can create an opportunity for hackers to gain access to multiple sensitive online systems? This can be obtained from just one data breach or re-used password.

Using multi-factor authentication and a password manager software application tool that stores and manage online credentials can greatly reduce this risk.

 

What are your answers telling you?

If you answered “no” to any of the last five questions, it’s likely time to consider upgrading your cybersecurity.

LPL’s Secure Office offers the protection you need, at an enterprise level, for a minimal monthly cost. And, the peace of mind you’ll have while growing your business is priceless..


Source "State of Endpoint Security Risk,"  Ponemon Institute, October 2018 "Cybersecurity,"  Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)


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Defend your business against cybercrime.

Leverage the enterprise-level technology and protection provided by Secure Office to defend against cyberattacks.