What Security Risks Is Your Financial Services Company Taking?

When you haven’t cultivated a culture of security, chances are that your firm is taking a litany of major cybersecurity risks. For a financial services firm, those risks are multiplied by the above-average likelihood of cyber attack for companies within the financial services industry. To protect your company, you need to discover your gaps and vulnerabilities in order to identify opportunities to improve your cybersecurity.

1. Do You Have A Cybersecurity Program?

Implementing a cybersecurity program is one of the most important steps your company can take to defend against cyber threats. When many people think of a cybersecurity program, they imagine antivirus software, but it’s actually much more than that.

A cybersecurity program requires dedicated budget, resources, and manpower (whether in-house or outsourced) to be successful. It requires creating a documented set of your organization's information security policies, procedures, guidelines, and standards. It should offer a guide on how to be successful at managing your company’s security practices in accordance with those documented policies and procedures.

2. Do You Have a Security Awareness Program?

A security awareness program is a structured program, such as a training or a course, that teaches the people using company systems how to identify and avoid cyber threats to the company and its data. A security awareness program is crucial to educate employees on the types of security threats they might encounter and the appropriate responses to those threats. It’s also important for employees to be knowledgeable about the company’s cybersecurity program and its policies. If you don’t have a security awareness program in place, you’re leaving your company open and vulnerable to attacks via your employees.

3. Are You Following a Cybersecurity Framework?

A cybersecurity framework is a set of formal standards that dictate what an organization needs to accomplish in order to be considered secure. When it comes to cybersecurity, there’s no leeway for lax policies or cutting corners. A regimented cybersecurity framework ensures that nothing falls through the cracks. There are a variety of different cybersecurity frameworks available, but the NIST framework is one of the most commonly used and widely accepted.

Many frameworks require substantial documentation of all cybersecurity measures and practices, as well as regular cybersecurity audits, so having an organized and thoroughly documents cybersecurity program is of the utmost importance when implementing a specific framework.

4. Do You Have Cybersecurity Insurance? 

Businesses that suffer successful cyber attacks and data breaches stand to lose tremendous amounts of money. Cybersecurity insurance cushions the financial blow and helps businesses to protect their budgets should they find themselves in the wake of a cyber attack. However, in order to qualify for cybersecurity insurance, you have to meet all of the above described criteria, proving to the insurance company that your company has taken sufficient additional protective measures.

5. Do You Have a Team to Execute Your Security Strategy?

The companies that are most vulnerable to cyber threats are often small and medium-sized companies without the resources to hire in-house IT and security specialists and without the resources to recover easily after an attack.

If that describes your business, don’t worry. CyberTeam has the cybersecurity expertise to meet your needs and protect your business from cyber attacks. We have experience working with companies of all sizes, creating custom strategies to address their unique security needs. If you’re interested in working with us, get in touch.