Advisers not prepared for cyber attacks, survey reveals
The Kamino Cyber Security survey conducted in October 2017 has revealed that the entire financial services industry, including financial advisers, accountants and superannuation funds, were not adequately prepared when it came to cyber security.
Only 46 per cent of respondents said they would be adequately prepared to deal with a cyber-attack on their business, with 25 per cent admitting their business was not doing enough to protect its systems from cyber threats and the remaining 29 per cent unsure.
Managing director of Kamino, Julian Plummer, said the results were concerning as 45 per cent of the respondents had experienced at least one cyber security attack. The survey also revealed only 32 per cent of respondents were aware of the new data breach notification laws that came into effect February this year.
“These laws will have a huge impact on the businesses affected,” said Plummer. “This lack of awareness of the laws most likely translates to an overall lack of preparedness for the changes now in effect, which is worrying considering the ramifications of a cyber breach incident on a financial planning or accounting practice.”
Some other key findings from the survey were:
- There was over-confidence when it came to dealing with cyber threats;
- The most common cyber incidents were caused by malware or phishing emails, which indicated that there was a lack of basic security hygiene in the industry; and
- Some critical controls that could help prevent cyber incidents are missing across the board.
Recommended for you
Proposed legislative changes to safe harbour duty could result in advisers having reduced professional indemnity costs, a joint submission by seven major licensees said.
With 66 per cent of newly established advice licensees being sole advisers, what are the risks and legal ramifications to consider when taking the plunge into self-licensing?
Despite its popularity, only 1 per cent of financial advisers say they have often discussed cryptocurrency with clients, CoreData said, fuelled by concerns of heavy legal expenses if the product goes wrong.
AFCA and the CSLR have signed a memorandum of understanding as to how they will support an efficient financial services sector via the scheme.
