PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 14

regulatory & compliance | cover story
OPEN
ARE YOU
LEAVING
THE DOOR
Advisers may
be overlooking
points of entry
to their data-
what they can
do to prevent
cyber theft
IF YOU HAVE NOT gotten serious about mitigating cybersecurity risks at
your advisory practice, you should.
" Advisory firms really need to treat information security formally, " says
Chief Technology Officer Jon Meyer of CAPTRUST in Raleigh, North Carolina.
" They need to develop an information security policy, and procedures and
processes to address any risks.
" The way you get better at this game, " Meyer continues, " is to have policies
and procedures in place, to do regular security risk assessments, and
to address the gaps identified in those assessments. " Many advisory firms
" never really go down the road of doing a risk assessment and then developing
formal policies and procedures to address those issues. "
With lawsuits over retirement plan cybersecurity breaches beginning to
crop up, plan advisers could be vulnerable to future legal action. " The thing
that could be surprising to a financial advisory firm that suffers a breach
is, you are the victim of a crime here. But within a very short period of time,
the sharks[-i.e., plaintiffs' attorneys-]are circling, and they're looking for
claims to assert, " says Kristy Brown, a partner at law firm Alston & Bird LLP
in Atlanta. " They aren't going to sue the cybercriminal, who is likely somewhere
overseas and whom they can't even find. There is vulnerability and
risk for advisers, and it underscores the need to be proactive in taking steps
to mitigate the risk. "
Lack of Guidance
There are currently no laws or regulations that explain what specific responsibilities
advisers have for protecting participants' data, Brown says. So far,
most of the legal actions filed against other kinds of companies " focus on the
idea of taking 'reasonable security measures,' " she says. " That's fuzzy, and
fuzzy is hard for companies. It's not as simple as looking at a one-size-fits-all
14 | planadviser.com January-February 2021 Art by David Plunkert

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PLANADVISER - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - January/February 2021

Are You Leaving the Door Open?
A Question of Liability
How 3(38) Advising Profits Clients
The Tax Distinction
How to Choose a PEP
Plan Governance
Continuous Education
The Latest Word on ESG
ESG Investing Under ERISA
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover1
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover2
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 1
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 2
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 3
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 4
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 5
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 6
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 7
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 8
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 9
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 10
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 11
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 12
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 13
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Are You Leaving the Door Open?
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 15
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 16
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 17
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 18
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 19
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - A Question of Liability
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 21
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 22
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 23
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - How 3(38) Advising Profits Clients
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 25
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 26
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 27
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - The Tax Distinction
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 29
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - How to Choose a PEP
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 31
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Plan Governance
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 33
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 34
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 35
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Continuous Education
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 37
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - The Latest Word on ESG
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - ESG Investing Under ERISA
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - 40
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover3
PLANADVISER - January/February 2021 - Cover4
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