The Rise of Pension Cyber Scams and How to Stay Safe
As technology advances it is becoming increasingly important to ensure your cyber resilience meets the everchanging regulations. In day-to-day operations, businesses rely heavily on technology and data which is why fraudsters use this to their advantage to disrupt, corrupt and extort data for financial gain. Trustees must be prepared and ensure their pension scheme members are protected from these cyber-scams.
Cyber criminals have become highly sophisticated, yet statistics reveal that almost half of UK pension schemes have not yet tested the strength of their IT systems, processes and procedures against the risk of cyber-crime or most do not have insurance to cover losses relating to damage or loss of information in the event of a cyber-attack. These statistics are hugely alarming; cyber criminals ensure significant preparation is complete before an attack so it is important that pension schemes have the correct measures in place.
At Assure UK, we have introduced an email quarantine system that detects potentially malicious emails and ensure all employees complete security awareness training on a continuous basis via the Trustee Toolkit. ‘People risk’ is the cause for the majority of cyber-attacks so it is necessary staff remain vigilant to be able to identify any unwelcome attempts of a cyber-crime. Additionally, regular patching and updates should be actioned, alongside the installation of an anti-virus software, to prevent weaknesses being exploited by cyber-criminals and using an external Security Assessment will help identify vulnerabilities in the networks, systems and applications used.
Although it is not possible to entirely avoid cyber-scams, it is crucial for Trustees to implement robust procedures, to prevent the devastating consequences for individuals’ retirement savings through cyber-scams, and to make certain the red flags (serious scam concerns) and amber flags (scam warning signs) can be identified.
We have partnered with Lockdown Cyber Security to offer trustees effective ways they can manage their Cyber Fraud Risk through a FREE webinar: How Trustees can manage their Cyber Fraud Risk more effectively. Sign up here to watch it for FREE.
If you have any questions, please get in contact with us by calling 020 7112 8300, alternatively you can email us on info@assureuk.co.uk.