State Regulators Propose New Model To Align With SEC Rules

State securities regulators have proposed a sweeping new model law that would require state investment advisors and reps to bring their policies, procedures and disclosures up to Securities and Exchange Commission standards.

The rules would require each RIA policy and procedure to be customized to each state’s advisor requirements, with a code of ethics that aligns closely with SEC rules, to “enhance investment advisers’ abilities to fulfill their fiduciary duties to clients,” the North American Association of Securities Administrators (NASAA) said in its new proposal.

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Cybersecurity: What Financial Advisors Need To Consider

The number of data breaches is skyrocketing. In the first half of 2019 alone, there were 3,800 publicly disclosed record breaches, 4.1 billion personal records exposed and an increase of 54% in the number of reported breaches versus the first six months of 2018. Although all industries have been affected, the volume of sensitive data and information that the financial industry stores makes them a prime target for hackers. For example, one of the most high-profile data breaches of 2019 was with Capital One, resulting in 106 million records being accessed by a hacker. Financial advisors and firms need to be aware of cybersecurity risks, and need to be prepared with a strategy to prepare for these attacks.

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How to Use Risk Management Techniques to Improve Remote Work

Companies around the world quickly transitioned into remote work after coronavirus started spreading. Thanks to advanced technology, it’s possible to work from home and connect with colleagues. However, the use of technology comes with its set of challenges, especially in cybersecurity. For companies that adjusted suddenly without formal planning, performing thorough risk assessments, and identifying risk management techniques is now more critical than ever. By understanding the security risks associated with remote work, you can choose to either avoid, mitigate, transfer, or accept the risks.

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Cybersecurity During COVID-19: What You Need To Know To Protect Yourself

With so many people working from home right now, the chance for data breach has increased for businesses. For example, there have been Zoom calls getting hacked, transcribed and posted without the hosts knowledge or even crazier stories of intruders popping into Zoom meetings.

More concerning is identity theft and phishing schemes that have spiked during the quarantine.

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Develop Tailored Cybersecurity Self-Assessments to Help Secure Your Remote Workforce

With many organizations supporting large numbers of remote workers, security teams are being pressed to provide necessary protections and security awareness training for the remote workforce. Security awareness is important no matter where your workforce resides, but companies might find it difficult to train remote workers via traditional methods.

So how can organizations help ensure that remote employees are still practicing cyber safety?

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Cybersecurity in the Age of the COVID-19 Remote Worker and Beyond

Many more millions of employees have been working remotely as a result of the devastating COVID-19 virus than ever before. There is likely no going back. Employers have been relying on a remote workforce by necessity in the short term and are realizing that in the long term they can operate efficiently and productively with their staff largely out of the office. The public health risks will, for the foreseeable future, be the driver both on employers’ need for a remote workforce to achieve continuity of operations and employees’ demand for a safer work location. The increased numbers of remote workers will no doubt be lasting. But with this anticipated restructuring of work must come a comprehensive evaluation of the corresponding cybersecurity risks over the long term and how best to address them. As employers look forward to the future of securing remote work in their organizations, they should review the following top ten considerations as part of their defense in depth.

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FA: Many Advisors Still Plagued By Cybersecurity Deficiencies

State securities regulators report they found fewer regulatory deficiencies during examinations of the country’s 17,533 state-registered advisors than they did last year, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association’s annual report on the state-registered investment adviser industry. But cybersecurity was an area that saw more deficiencies versus the prior report.

State regulators, who have regulatory oversight responsibility for advisors with assets under management of $100 million or less, found deficiencies relating to cybersecurity in 26% of their examinations, up from 23% during the last series of coordinated examinations in 2017.

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