Four Security Best Practices That All Advisors Should Implement: Common Sense Security Will Make Your Firm a Tough Target for Hackers (The Technology Coach‪)‬

WHEN YOU THINK about the security around your technology systems and your firm's data, what level of confidence do you have? Are your computers protected from intruders? Is your client data safely guarded? Unfortunately, the bad guys are out there, and they are working overtime to find ways to break in and grab your precious information. Chances are your own list of security concerns covers only a small fraction of the current potential threats to your technology systems and data. You might also be surprised at how unfamiliar your staff is with security threats related to technology. For example, they might believe that if the virus software is up to date and running on their computer it will take care of everything and that there is nothing they need to worry about. We all get comfortable when we use technology every day, and we sometimes (if not often) forget or simply ignore important security best practices. Education in this area is critical, and it is important that everyone at your firm understands their role in protecting your technology systems and data. It would be best for most advisors to hire an IT professional--someone who worries about data security 24/7-to be responsible for protecting your systems. However, not all advisors have this option. Whether you have an IT professional or not, there are a number of best practices that you and your staff should follow in order to better protect your systems and your client data. A number of the best practical steps you can take are simple and basically common sense, but they need to be adopted across an entire firm.