If your SMB must comply with cybersecurity regulations, you’re probably in a tough situation: You can’t afford in-house IT staff, but you REALLY can’t afford fines for non-compliance — or worse — costly cyber attacks. I’ve recently created three resources for firms facing this dilemma:
1. A Free Guide: “Three Steps to SEC / FINRA Cybersecurity for Small to Mid-Sized RIA Firms”
From working with my clients in the wealth management business, I know how difficult cybersecurity compliance is, so I’ve created this guide to help these firms through the regulatory maze.
Even if your firm isn’t in the financial industry, this guide can help you protect your critical data and bank accounts. Here’s some of what you’ll learn:
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How to understand what the SEC expects
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The key steps to building your own cybersecurity compliance plan
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How to quickly become more cybersecurity literate
2. Article in Advisor Perspectives: “Cybersecurity Compliance Doesn’t Equal Cybersecurity”
Checking all the right boxes on a cybersecurity checklist from a regulator or broker-dealer doesn’t mean your firm and clients are reasonably protected against catastrophic data breaches and other cybercrime.
Read my article on the Advisor Perspectives website about five typical checklist items that usually warrant a deeper dive.
If you’re in the wealth management business, you probably already know about Advisor Perspectives, but if you haven’t seen it yet, check out this excellent resource.
3. Blog Series on Cybersecurity for Financial Services SMBs
TechGen serves a wide variety of businesses, but recently we’ve focused this blog on cybersecurity topics of special interest to financial services SMBs — although the advice is relevant to any company at risk of exposing their clients’ sensitive personal and financial data:
8 Cybersecurity Trends Experts Reveal for Financial SMBs
If you run a financial services firm, you’ve seen many new cybersecurity rules issued in recent years — but are you ready for regulators to get serious about enforcing them? In this post, we hear from three experts who say the crackdown has begun. And smaller firms won’t be spared.
5 Top Cybersecurity Threats Faced by Financial Services Firms
The Cybersecurity Risk Pyramid shows small to medium-sized financial services firms how to cost-effectively deploy limited IT resources to protect your clients’ most sensitive data. We break down the five top risks — which are probably in the reverse order that you think they are.
Threat of Harm: How a Cybersecurity Lapse Can Make Your Financial SMB Liable
The chances of a company facing a data breach lawsuit appear to be increasing. And for smaller companies — particularly financial services providers — a lawsuit can put them out of business. Learn these four strategies to protect your firm from cybersecurity litigation.
5 Keys to Creating Cybersecurity Awareness Training Your Team Won’t Snore Through
A cyber thief once tricked an employee into transferring millions of dollars from the employer’s account into the thief’s account. How? By mimicking the employee’s CEO’s distinctive writing style. This wasn’t an attack on the company’s IT network. It was something far darker.
5 Cybersecurity Controls That Thwart Wire Transfer Scams and Employee Fraud
Two common, insidious cyber-related crimes — employee fraud and fake email requests for wire transfers — can bleed your SMB’s bottom line over months or years. Learn the five internal cybersecurity controls that accounting experts recommend to prevent these and other losses.