Category Archives: Financial Services

SEC fines brokerage firms over email hacks, customer data exposure

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined several brokerages a total of $750,000 for exposing the sensitive personal information of thousands of customers and clients after hackers took over employee email accounts. All of the companies settled the SEC charges, in three separate actions: Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services, Cetera Financial Specialists, Cetera Advisors, and Cetera Investment Advisers; Cambridge Investment Research and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors; and KMS Financial Services. The firms ran afoul of the SEC’s “Safeguards Rule,” which requires companies to write and adopt procedures for protecting customer records and information. “Investment advisers and broker dealers must fulfill their obligations concerning the protection of customer information,” said Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit. “It is not enough to write a policy requiring enhanced security measures if those requirements are not implemented or are only partially implemented, especially in the face of known attacks.” […]

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Apple, JPMorgan Chase bosses among industry heads set to gather at White House for cyber ‘call to action’

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President Joe Biden will huddle Wednesday with industry leaders to issue a “call to action” on cybersecurity and make “concrete announcements” to counter the fundamental causes of cyberattacks, according to a senior administration official. It’s a star-studded afternoon gathering scheduled to include the likes of Apple CEO Tim Cook and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon from the financial, technology, energy, insurance and education sectors, then feature discussions led by top administration officials. The White House has been working to secure commitments from industry in advance of the meeting, mostly in the areas of “technology and talent,” the official said in a background call with reporters on Tuesday. Two points of emphasis, the official said, are building technology that is secure from the outset, and better defending critical infrastructure after the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline led to a fuel scare. “We need to bake in security by design into tech,” […]

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Ramp and Brex draw diverging market plans with M&A strategies

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From a high level, all of the recent deal-making in corporate cards and spend management shows that it’s not enough to just help companies track what employees are expensing these days. Continue reading Ramp and Brex draw diverging market plans with M&A strategies→

Fintech company Plaid, consumers reach $58M settlement agreement in privacy suit

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Financial tech company Plaid has reached a $58 million settlement agreement in a lawsuit where customers alleged that the company obtained and used their banking information without permission. Plaid’s service connects customer banking accounts to financial apps like Venmo and Robinhood. The plaintiffs claimed that Plaid misled them and violated their privacy by obtaining data from their financial accounts without consent, getting their bank login information through a deceptive interface meant to look like customers’ own bank login screens and selling their transaction histories. Under the settlement agreement, still subject to court approval, Plaid must also delete some data from its systems, minimize the data it stores, improve disclosures of how it uses data and maintain disclosures and websites about its security practices. “We do not, nor have we ever, sold data,” a Plaid spokesperson said. “We make our role and practices clear, and provide services that give consumers control […]

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Financial Services is Ahead of Most Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors, but For How Long?

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The financial services sector has been commended for being a step ahead of all other critical infrastructure sectors in their cybersecurity approach. Realizing the value of the data it is entrusted with like banking records and personal identifia… Continue reading Financial Services is Ahead of Most Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors, but For How Long?→

Yaydoo secures $20M, aims to simplify B2B collections, payments

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It’s no secret that the technology for easy business-to-business payments has not yet caught up to its peer-to-peer counterparts, but Yaydoo thinks it has the answer. Continue reading Yaydoo secures $20M, aims to simplify B2B collections, payments→

Cybereason Extends Global Leadership in XDR with $275 Million in Crossover Financing

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The first half of 2021 has seen explosive growth for our company, and the tremendous momentum we are enjoying is just the beginning of what will prove to be a momentous year for the entire Cybereason team. 
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The fintech endgame: New supercompanies combine the best of software and financials

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A new and attractive hybrid category of company is emerging at the intersection of software and financial services, creating buzz in the investment and entrepreneurial communities. Continue reading The fintech endgame: New supercompanies combine the best of software and financials→

Despite MDM, Financial Services Plagued by Phishing, Malware

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Mobile device management (MDM) deployments haven’t exactly put the kibosh on threats to financial services. In fact, even while MDM adoption rose 50%, quarterly exposure to phishing between 2019 and 2020 jumped by 125%, according to the Lookout Financ… Continue reading Despite MDM, Financial Services Plagued by Phishing, Malware→

Why Financial Services Needs Network Transformation

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All business industries have seen increasing pressure to digitize their services in recent years, particularly over the past 12 months in response to COVID-19. But few industries have felt this pressure more than the financial sector, where customers … Continue reading Why Financial Services Needs Network Transformation→