50% increase in cyber criminal attempts on brokers: Connective

The aggregator said there had been a 50 per cent increase in cyber criminal attempts on its brokers and clients, with Connective group counsel Daniel Oh urging brokers to be on high alert and “look beyond protecting data and systems to mitigate cyber threats”.

Mr Oh stated: “Threat actors pose a significant risk in our industry due to the highly sensitive data we capture, hold and send on a regular basis. Even the smallest cyber security incident can have devastating impacts on both the business and clients.

“Brokers need to equip themselves with the right tools to avoid a worst-case scenario. Business growth should not come at the expense of the privacy of brokers or their clients. It could lead to loss of client confidence and the ability to operate the business day-to-day, among other issues.”

It followed the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) finding that Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022, an 80 per cent increase on the total losses recorded in 2021.

Among those impacted, small businesses lost $13.6 million to scams in the same year, representing a 95 per cent increase.

Mr Oh added: “Cyber criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their operations. With the industry moving towards becoming fully digital and a wealth of critical information already managed online, brokers are encouraged to be aware of what information is being shared online and know exactly what each of the tools and apps they are using are doing.

“Delete any unused apps or accounts and stay up to date with their operating system and apps.”

The aggregator stated that human error was “one of the biggest cyber security threats” and that brokers needed to prioritise training and education among themselves and staff to protect their businesses.

“Every day, brokers and staff interact with technology, make decisions and handle sensitive information. As a result, the potential for human error will always be present – and it’s often the simple mistakes and lapses in judgement that lead to cyber security incidents,” Mr Oh commented.

“Brokers are encouraged to increase cyber security awareness among staff and put in place mandatory training to decrease the vulnerability to threats.

“The goal for brokers should be to make their system harder to get into and this takes a collective effort from everyone in the company.”

Connective stated that brokers can “significantly reduce the chances of being caught up in a cyber attack” by following these steps:

• Turn on multifactor authentication.
• Watch out for phishing attacks.
• Update your software.
• Educate yourself and your staff.
• Safeguard client data.

Connective’s advice comes after cyber security specialist firm DotSec recently told The Adviser that while a broker might be focused on the size of their trail as their business value, the true value of a business is the data within it.

DotSec described a broker’s business as “a goldmine of information” with access to not only high-value information such as identification document numbers but also a range of personal information such as addresses and bank details.

[Related: The true cost of a data breach]