Key Questions for Cybercrime in Equity Investing

In today’s digital age, the threat of cybercrime looms large over businesses and individuals alike. The need for robust cybersecurity solutions has never been more critical as the world becomes increasingly interconnected. To stay ahead of the curve, organisations must take proactive steps to protect their digital assets from malicious attacks.

Most companies that investors are looking at are proactive and vigilant in addressing cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity must be prioritised, as it serves as an intelligent investment, safeguarding the firm’s assets and reputation and ensuring long-term success.
Alev Dover, CEO of Prism Global Group, stated: “Cybersecurity is a significant concern for businesses of all sizes and industries. Threats like data breaches, ransomware, and scams can lead to financial losses, reputation damage, and legal responsibility. Protecting your business against these threats is crucial.

Prism has identified five effective strategies to enhance cybersecurity. When investors look at the company that they wish to invest in, these controls are a helpful list to check against:

1. Is the firm regularly testing their defences and ensuring they are prepared for any possible situation?
As technology advances, the potential for security breaches increases. With each new addition to a company’s systems, such as users, applications, devices, and acquisitions, the complexity of cybersecurity grows. Therefore, organisations need a regular process that identifies security gaps, vulnerabilities, and loopholes before they lead to major incidents.

2. How is the firm implementing identity and access management systems?
To keep daily operations running smoothly and protect sensitive information from unauthorised access, it’s crucial to have a system that allows for appropriate data access to prevent internal breaches. Data breaches are caused by insider threats like misusing privileged access, weak or stolen passwords, unpatched applications, malware, social engineering, and physical attacks. To protect against both external and internal threats, it’s crucial that the firm has a robust data security program in place to safeguard sensitive data.

3. Does the firm conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training?
Equipping employees with cybersecurity knowledge and best practices is essential to defend against phishing and social engineering attacks. Providing education on identifying these types of attacks and understanding what information should not be shared is crucial. Every individual within an organisation can play a significant role in maintaining cybersecurity.

4. What Network Monitoring measures are in place?
Effective network security monitoring services safeguard organisations against potential security threats. By providing constant surveillance, these services enable prompt identification and response to suspicious activities, thus minimising the risk of a significant breach. To ensure maximum protection, it is crucial to have trained professionals monitoring the business network for any unusual behaviour that may indicate a potential attack.

5. Who at the firm is responsible for device discovery & continuous policy enforcement?
To improve network security, teams can identify and evaluate endpoints for vulnerabilities. If any issues are found, steps can be taken to address them, such as separating insecure endpoints from the rest of the network, and the problem can be quickly discovered and fixed if a resource violates established security policies. Newly installed devices that match a particular device profile with an active policy are also automatically protected.

Dover concluded: ‘From reading industry research and talking with our investment networks we can conclude that significant cybersecurity breaches cause material, short-term declines in stock price and market share. These analyses are based on reviewing publicly disclosed breaches and tracking stock prices post-breach.

Our company’s equity investment platform and products are highly secure in terms of cybersecurity. This assurance enables us to instil confidence for all our clients and the financial markets when they make long-term investment decisions. We maintain strict controls that undergo regular reviews to ensure the utmost security.