Scam Risks in 2021 and How to Avoid Them Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and continue to find new ways to compromise both individuals’ and firms’ data security. Phishing attacks often use current events or crises to entice users to click infected links, download malicious programs or documents, or provide [...]
Avoid the risk of using common passwords– make your accounts more secure today WHAT HAPPENS IF I USE COMMON PASSWORDS? Password spray attacks target user accounts by attempting to access hundreds of thousands of accounts with the same common password at once, instead of testing many password combinations on [...]
Are You Taking Steps To Avoid Ransomware Attacks? WHAT HAPPENED? Earlier this month, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert which outlines best practices for maintaining a secure network; the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency [...]
The CCPA Enforcement Date Is Approaching: What You Should Know WHAT HAPPENED? The July 1, 2020 enforcement date for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is fast approaching. The original adoption of the regulations, on Jan. 1 of this year, contained a six-month enforcement delay. Although some organizations requested [...]
OCIE Releases List of Common Investment Company, Money Market Fund, and Target Date Fund Compliance Issues WHAT HAPPENED? On Nov. 7, 2019, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations of the Securities and Exchange Commission released a Risk Alert outlining common compliance observations among investment companies, money market funds, [...]
OCIE Warns of Cloud-Based Server Security Risks WHAT HAPPENED? Last week, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) discovered several security risks related to the storage of customer information by broker-dealers and advisers, particularly related to the use of cloud-based servers. The primary risk was found to stem [...]
OCIE Warns Advisers and Broker-Dealers of Regulation S-P Compliance Issues WHAT HAPPENED? On April 16, 2019, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a list of compliance issues in connection with Regulation S-P. Regulation S-P requires registered investment advisers, investment companies, and broker-dealers (registrants) to provide notice [...]
FINRA Releases Report On Selected Cybersecurity Practices WHAT HAPPENED? On December 20, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released a Report on Selected Cybersecurity Practices (the “2018 Report”). In it, FINRA outlines five topics of focus: Cybersecurity controls in branch offices; Methods of limiting phishing attacks; Identifying and [...]