3 tips to protect your firm from cyber attacks

Cyber attacks are becoming commonplace. And as hackers find new ways around fire walls and company safeguards, it’s important to protect your data.

Bill Hewitt, CEO of Exari provides three tips to be proactive.

1. Know whom you need to notify, and when

Financial institutions are required to quickly act in a specific way if there’s a crisis. These obligations occur across thousands of contracts. But if a breach occurs and the attack is benign, a bank or fund may not want to notify every investor or the public. So know what your company protocols are.

2. Know where your clauses are hiding

Financial institutions usually have to sift through a range of documents in the middle of a breach, especially if their contracts and agreements are old and large in volume. Without a digital repository and contract management system, this can take time. So ensure your firm has a system that allows for immediate access to all contractual relationships, obligations and protections.

3. Identify and address weak links early

Every financial institution has contracts with external partners. While a bank or firm’s internal security measures may be excellent, they are only as strong as their weakest supplier or vendor. If a firm promises an investor it will meet a range of cyber security requirements, but it has a network of dozens of suppliers that are not under the same obligations, then the situation becomes risky. Increasing visibility into all supplier contracts will allow firms to understand partner obligations, and how they relate to its own obligations to customers.