A shift in mindset is required to help keep cyber criminals at bay. More sophisticated attacks have made protecting client financial data a crucial task for all fund managers. The potential exposure to these types of attacks is often underestimated and asset managers must take every necessary precaution to secure their systems. Having a clear understanding of the potential vulnerabilities and where threats may come from is one way to stay ahead of the cyber criminals. This knowledge paired with automated response systems will create a solid defence against future threats.

Although the mechanisms used for attack have changed little, they have accelerated and become vastly more commonplace in the financial services industry. Asset management firms that may have appeared protected by being removed from dealing with the public are just as vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Phishing emails are one of the most common ways that cyber criminals are getting access to undisclosed client information. According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), phishing is the top “action variety” seen in breaches in the last year and 43% of breaches involved phishing and/or pretexting. This is up from 1,690,000 on Jan 19, 2020 (up 27% over 12 months). Google has registered 2,145,013 phishing sites as of Jan 17, 2021.

The reality is that any organisation operating devices that connect to the internet are at threat of being hacked and without the correct processes in place it becomes all too easy to fall into the hackers trap. We are slowly learning, in our personal lives, how to avoid hacking scams. Our banks have alerted us to not respond to phone calls asking for card verification details, and our email accounts have an automated Spam folder to catch the more-obvious adverse communications from unknown senders. What about the workspace, however? Are employees truly equipped with the knowledge, but moreover confidence, to prevent a hack?