Cyber Crime - A Growing Threat
The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) is embarking on a thematic review of how firms deal with the increased threat of cyber crime .
The FCA will in due course publish an updated version of its business continuity management practice guide with a discussion paper .
This is a growing issue and poses a significant threat to regulated firms .
We have all heard numerous examples of data security breaches through lost data and hacked systems . At this stage , most of the news worthy items have focused on much larger concerns , but all firms are at risk .
It is important that as part of your systems and controls review , you involve your IT staff or external consultants to ensure that your IT systems are not at risk of attack , making sure that your firewalls and anti-virus software are up to date and reviewed regularly . You should also have a robust IT policy for staff , covering , for example , downloading material onto office computers , bringing in material from outside to download , and use of flash drives , external hard drives etc .
Also , as a related issue , it is also important to ensure that you have up-to-date versions of your operating system whether it is Windows , Apple , Linux or Ubuntu . We know for example that many of the older Windows systems are no longer supported by Microsoft .
Do not forget your software , Office , Internet Explorer , Adobe : If you do not have the latest versions , you may not be able to open and act upon an electronic instruction from a client , and such a delay may well place you at risk in the event of anything going awry .
Imagine a scenario where a Fleet client sends you an email with an MS Word document attached created in the latest version of Microsoft Office , asking you to add a car to the fleet policy immediately . It is late on a Friday and you can ’ t get the document to open , so decide to leave until Monday when your IT person is back in . A claim occurs on that new car over the weekend and the client rings the insurer who knows nothing about it …
The FCA will take a dim view of this and will question your systems and controls and your TCF culture , as you cannot act in the best interests of your client if you do not have the correct tools at your disposal .
It is important that you review your systems to ensure that they are current and you have the appropriate defences in place .
RWA can help with a review of your IT and policies : if you have any questions , please speak to the Helpdesk or your RWA consultant . We also offer our 10 tips to combat cyber crime below .
RWA ’ s Top 10 Hints for Combating Cyber Crime by Bruce Fayle
According to the Federation of Small Businesses , online crime and fraud is a growing and a real threat to small businesses which is estimated to cost the UK economy c £ 27billion * per year .
Firms therefore need to be live to the constant challenges posed by cyber crime and to the many different types of frauds to which they may be victim as well as security issues where attacks may not be known .
According to the Federation , each small business in the UK loses up to £ 4,000 * per year to fraud . So what can be done ?
RWA offer 10 tips for our client firms : 1 . Implement a combination of security protection solutions such as anti-virus , anti-spam , firewall ( s );
2 . Conduct regular security updates on all software and devices ;
by Terence Clark
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3 . Implement a robust password protection policy ( i . e . minimum of eight characters and change regularly ); 4 . Secure your wireless network ; 5 . Implement clear and concise procedures for email , internet and mobile devices ; 6 . Train staff ; 7 . Implement and test back up plans , information disposal and disaster recovery procedures ; 8 . Conduct regular security risk assessments ; 9 . Conduct regular security testing on your website ; and 10 . Check provider credentials and contracts when using cloud services . The message is simple . Be aware , be vigilant and test , test , test .
For an impartial assessment of your risk mitigation programme contact RWA on 01604 709509 .
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* Federation of Small Businesses
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