DALBAR Launches Advisor Tool to Assess Cyber Defenses

Marlborough, MA, April 09, 2018 -- After the massive disclosures of personal information that took place during the last five years, advisors and their clients are now exposed to unprecedented financial losses if and when this information is used against them. This threat demands defensive measures by institutions that hold clients’ financial assets. The threat also requires advisors to assess how well these institutions protect their clients’ assets.

“Nearly half of an advisor’s clients have already had their personal information compromised in some way” said Louis Harvey, DALBAR's CEO. He added, “It’s just a matter of time before cyber villains start to use this information to steal assets in a big way.”

There is clearly an urgent need for advisors to assess the effectiveness of cyber defenses. Until now, however, there has never been an easy yet effective way for the average advisor to do so. That changes with the announcement of DALBAR's Cyber Defense Scoresheet which provides advisors with a simple yet effective tool to weigh the effectiveness of cyber defenses.

The beta version of the confidential Cyber Defense Scoresheet announced today is available to advisors at no charge. The Scoresheet uses Sensible Authentication (SA) that balances cyber defenses with functional capabilities. For example, a service that permits withdrawal of funds requires more powerful defenses than one that is limited to inquiry and analysis. Similarly services permitting unrestricted activity by a single actor need more security than a 401(k) plan, where both plan sponsor and participant authorization is needed.

The SA technology permits users to assess specific areas of concern. Highly active omnibus accounts with large balances can be singled out. Millions of dollars could be siphoned from these accounts without alarm. On the other hand, large numbers of inactive low interest accounts that are orphaned or abandoned may be easy targets for cyber villains.

The beta version permits users to discretely record answers to questions that indicate the appropriate level of defenses needed. The tool then reports an assessment of defenses as Maximum, Moderate, Minimum or Insufficient. The beta version may be obtained at http://cyberdefenseresource.dalbar.com/.

Using the Cyber Defense Scoresheet, advisors can request answers in RFPs and determine if an institution meets the standard required to adequately protect the client.

Assessment of cyber defenses is an important added value that advisors can bring to clients, the importance of which would be underscored every time their clients see another high profile data breach on the evening news. Using the Cyber Defense Scoresheet, advisors can provide this value add with very little effort being required.

The free beta offering will be available for six months, after which there will be a paid final version (pricing has not yet been set).

For more information contact Brendan Yeager by email at [email protected] or by phone at (617) 624-7133.

Brendan Yeager
[email protected]
(617) 624-7133