Financial Advisors Face Cybersecurity Nightmare

SEC chief warns about mounting cybersecurity threats to the financial system.

The chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Jo White dropped a bomb in a recent speech by noting that the biggest risk faced by the financial system is cybersecurity. And she poured salt over the wound with the observation that the preparations taken by financial players are inadequate.

"What we found, as a general matter so far, is a lot of preparedness, a lot of awareness but also their policies and procedures are not tailored to their particular risks," Reuters quoted her as saying.

Criminals in a matter of short minutes are emptying millions of dollars out of accounts around the world. $81 million for instance was recently sucked out of the Bangladesh central bank. But many experts said that financial advisors may be a particularly tasty - and often undefended - target.  MORE