The Cyber Certificate for Financial Advisers that can Help Convert More Prospects

Technology has become undeniably critical to wealth managers, but clients are no longer looking to their advisers for little more than online valuations and digital communication. There is now a growing focus on protecting their personal data during the course of the relationship, and it’s become increasingly obvious that the government and regulators are listening. We see clear signs of this in the growing synchronicity of government legislation and cybersecurity programmes, such as Cyber Essentials, which we’ll be examining in today’s article.

In this blog, I’ll explain what Cyber Essentials is, the benefits of having Cyber Essentials for financial services companies, and how you can go about securing the certificate. 

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is an effective, Government backed scheme that helps you to protect your organisation, whatever its size, against a whole range of the most common cyber-attacks.

Cyber Essentials can be considered a minimum standard framework relating to cyber security, which will reduce the risk of data breaches, helping to prevent unauthorised access to both company and client data, and minimise the damage in the event of a breach. 

If we liken your cyber security to physical security around your house, it’s comparable to having deadbolts on doors, fences, alarms, and possibly security cameras. Similarly, the Cyber Essentials certificate outlines a minimum set of guidelines to follow to ensure that your business (a ‘digital house’, if you will) remains secure. It audits your property to ensure all safety protocols have been suitably installed and provides a flag for you to put on your lawn to indicate that your home is suitably safe.

Why should financial advisers consider getting Cyber Essentials certified?

The Cyber Essentials certificate demonstrates to prospective and existing clients that you take the security of their data seriously, increasing trustworthiness and credibility. This helps advisers to acquire more clients and maintain those relationships, leading to higher client retention.

While news of large-scale cybercrime continues to make headlines, many of your clients or prospects may not be fully aware of the importance of cybersecurity. Clients expect their data to be kept secure, but it’s not always something they may think to highlight during an initial meeting. The digital assets provided with the Cyber Essentials certificate can be used on your website and other sales materials, clearly displaying your commitment to data security, providing peace of mind to a prospective or existing client on a topic that they potentially hadn’t even considered. As many of the businesses we’ve worked with have discovered, it can be an attractive differentiator to be able to clearly demonstrate your commitment to their security during the sales process. 

The certificate also reduces the risk of data breaches relating to company data. Implementing appropriate security to prevent unauthorised access to company data protects from an array of cyber threats, which can be extremely costly either in lost productivity due to downtime or expensive in the event of regulatory censure.

Recent estimates indicate that more than 50% of financial service companies will have a data breach in 2023. If you don’t have the Cyber Essentials flag on your lawn, it’s an unfortunate indicator to cyber criminals that you might have flaws in your security.

How can you get Cyber Essentials certified?

Cyber Essentials is secured by applying to the National Cyber Security Centre and paying a small fee. 

The application is essentially a checklist of required security settings, including user access controls, malware protection, and patch management. This does not require an external or verified IT audit, but to ensure a successful application, we strongly recommend having a security expert run through your controls to ensure compliance before applying.

If you’d like to work with BTRS on getting your company Cyber Essentials certified, we support businesses through every aspect of the process, including preparing required documentation and updating appropriate security settings. Any shortfalls are addressed prior to the submission to ensure success.

It’s important to note that technology platforms and solutions are not always secure ‘out-of-the-box’ and come with minimal security elements configured. This includes modern cloud environments from providers such as Microsoft and Google. The perception is that a ‘cloud’ solution is impenetrable, secure, always on, and backed up, when in reality, they provide all the materials and tools to add locks to the doors and windows, but don’t necessarily install them for you.

If you'd like a better understanding of the strengths and weakness of your current security measures, BTRS provides an obligation-free questionnaire to set you on the right path and provide some valuable insights. 

I have also recently answered a few key questions relating to Cyber Essentials and the process to obtain it.