The unexpected is what is most fatal in cyber. Target suffered one of the largest thefts of client information in history because of an HVAC repairman. Activision was breached this year because an employee clicked on a text message that compromised his personal device. And Reddit was breached after an attacker sent a series of plausible sounding prompts that directed employees to a fraudulent website that mimicked the company’s web portal.
None of these were direct attacks on a company’s cyber defenses. Instead, cybercriminals identified and exploited unexpected weaknesses. They also highlight why cybersecurity is an exercise in risk management and not risk elimination. It requires a layered protection strategy, with each layer addressing different points that humans intersect with technology.
This is the seventh article in a series that looks at wealth manager cybersecurity. It examines three additional layers of protection that every industry participant should consider as well as one common one that may be potentially less effective than expected. …
