Robust cybersecurity is essential for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs). Protecting sensitive data, such as banking details and personally identifiable documents, is crucial for maintaining client trust and complying with regulatory requirements.
In this post, we outline 9 cybersecurity statistics financial advisers need to know, covering the threats you should be aware of, their impact on your business, and how to safeguard against them.
Personal information is abundant within financial services, making it a prime target for data thieves. Financial firms are starting to realise that their existing cybersecurity measures might not be enough to fully protect their client data.
The pandemic has pushed communications and services online, especially in financial services. Protecting your business from digital risk is more important than ever, with firms being encouraged to revisit their cybersecurity strategies.
For companies in financial services, healthcare, and legal industries, outbound email has been a significant source of data breaches, often due to human error.
While cybersecurity solutions often focus on threats like phishing and malware, it's crucial to acknowledge that most data breaches stem from people, with 52% of individuals admitting to unintentionally sending an email containing sensitive information.
The financial impact of a data breach can be devastating, especially as the increase in digital communications provides more opportunities for breaches to occur. For instance, 20% of organisations have experienced a data breach due to remote work, with incidents taking, on average, 29 days longer to identify and contain.
Reputation is an IFA’s greatest asset. Failing to protect client data can lead to significant losses, with 38% of businesses losing customers due to security issues.
Passwords are a common security measure but are also one of the easiest access points for intruders. It is recommended to change your password every 3 months, using a combination of random words to create at least 10 characters, including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols.
While having a strong password is crucial, using two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security. For outbound email, 2FA ensures that only the intended recipient can access the message, protecting sensitive data.
Investing in dedicated cybersecurity training can keep employees aware of potential threats. However, as of 2019, only 27% of UK businesses had conducted any training in the previous 12 months.
95% of Email Data Breaches Are Caused by Human Error, ThriveDX, 2021.
33% of UK Businesses Have Lost Customers Following a Data Breach, RedSeal, 2019.
It Only Takes 10 Minutes To Crack a 6-Character Long, Lowercase Password, DataProt, 2021.
Sabrina McClune, 19.06.24
Sam Kendall, 19.06.24