Reform is slowly coming with the economic crime and corporate transparency bill. But what tardy progress.
Pension fraud and online cyber attacks will rise in tandem while easy pickings remain. Stay one step ahead of these criminals or risk losing everything.
But IFAs can’t stand alone. They need tougher laws, motivated police and co-ordinated government: do the Home Office even talk to HM Treasury and other departments on this topic?
Cyber security is not just for IT nerds. It is the concern of us all, from financial titans to high street minnows, and of course the government too. Our very prosperity and much more is at risk if we ignore this vastly underrated threat.
Tragically, as the Northern Irish police data breach shows, poor security procedures in your office can even be a potential risk to life and limb. Yet complacency is all around us.
Could you live with yourself if your clients face financial ruin because you failed to ratchet up your digital defences a notch or two today?
For IFAs, the National Cyber Security Centre is an excellent source of information and advice.
Stephanie Hawthorne is a freelance journalist
