3 Tips for Improving Cybersecurity in Advice Firms

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Traditionally, small and medium financial advice businesses have been left behind when it comes to cybersecurity. They’re considered too small by the big consultants or they’re unable to afford the measures or staff available to big businesses. Yet these advice businesses are the gatekeeper to the two true loves of the cybercriminal — large amounts of client money and information. If you haven’t been asked about the strength of your cybersecurity defence by a client it is only a matter of time and you need to be ready. The opportunity for cybercriminals are greater than ever before as working from home has become the new norm and the stakes are higher than ever — the 2020 IBM Cost of Data Breach Report had the average cost of an Australian data-breach sitting at $2.15M USD and in the U.S., this increases to $8.64M USD. Working on the assumptions that you want to be ready when your clients ask about your cybersecurity plans and you don’t have a spare $2M+ USD laying around, we recommend that you not wait until your firm is compromised to improve security. For a more proactive approach, here are three things an advice business can do today to harden their cybersecurity defence: 1. Evaluate your firm’s cyber risk 2. Establish a technology register 3. Strengthen your human firewall