Cybersecurity software developer Entreda announced on Friday the launch of its Unify 360 Concierge Service, providing independent advisory firms with dedicated specialists to manage alerts and reports.

“The Unify 360 Concierge Service is the product of growing firms demanding the next layer of risk management, one that provides financial advisors added assistance in reviewing and responding to data generated by the Unify platform,” said Entreda’s co-founder and CEO Sid Yenamandra in a news release.

He added that, “This add-on service, in allowing firms to choose whether they will manage the software themselves or allow Entreda to do it for them, represents a further integration of our set of offerings, virtually eliminating the need to consult multiple cybersecurity vendors.”

Entreda, with offices in Santa Clara, Calif., and Birmingham, Ala., is the creator of the cyberrisk number, which powers the Unify platform by serving as a third-party assessment of a firm’s potential vulnerability to cybercrimes and allowing companies to customize the weighting of their risk parameters within regulatory guidelines, the release pointed out. The Unify 360 Concierge Service can provide advisors and firms with assistance on the spectrum of their automated cybersecurity features, including:

  • Application installations and updates;
  • Around-the –clock monitoring and response for threats and vulnerabilities on end-points;
  • Real-time incident response, behavioral analytics and false positive reduction;
  • Weekly summary of account monitoring;
  • Weekly tips for improving the firm’s cyberrisk number; and
  • Annual review of the cybersecurity policy.

The release noted that RDA Financial Network, a Coralville, Iowa-based RIA, was among the first to request the service from Entreda. Christopher Arthur, RDA Financial Network’s Chief Compliance Officer, said, “Entreda’s Unify platform and cyberrisk number have greatly helped our processes for monitoring the “cyber health” of our registered devices.  The Unify app features auto-remediation as well.  This simplified process for monitoring data, systems, and updating controls is viewable in real-time, making Entreda an incredible asset in helping to prevent cyber breaches.”

Added Yenamandra, “the new Unify 360 Concierge Service exists to complement the cybersecurity software subscription of firms like RDA Financial, so they can focus on what they do best – delivering customized financial guidance to investors and savers. Our add-on service saves advisory firms time and offers their team members peace of mind that their digital data will remain secure.”

Jeff Nash, CEO of consulting firm BridgeMark Strategies, said offering a combination of real time cybersecurity surveillance with the option for ongoing, expert human support comes at an opportune time for the RIA space, where regulatory complexities have been increasing at an accelerated clip.

“Advisors who have recently transitioned from the IBD space and the turnkey services that are part of that experience to go RIA-only are starting to fully appreciate the escalating cost and importance of cybersecurity when they have to take care of it themselves. These RIAs are hungry for a cost-efficient, single-source provider that can blend AI and human judgment in how they are supported, and Entreda’s offering is very unique in that regard. ” Nash said.