Finra has expanded a program to assist advisors in finding affordable compliance and cybersecurity offerings from third-party vendors.
The Preferred Pricing Program finds, reviews and discounts compliance and cybersecurity tools and services – it launched with reviews of four information archive vendors which were made available at a discount for member firms. This week expanded that lineup with four cybersecurity vendors.
New York-based OS33 announced on Wednesday that its cloud-based Workplace by OS33 platform had been selected for the program.
"We are honored to be selected by FINRA for their Preferred Pricing Program and we are pleased to be supporting the industry with preferential pricing for their cybersecurity and compliance needs,” said Morley Ivers, president of Workplace by OS33, in released comments.
Bloomfield, N.J.-based FCI also announced on Thursday that its Finra Cybersecurity Bundle has been included in the Preferred Pricing Program. FCI is a managed security service provider for the financial services industry whose offerings are based on the cybersecurity framework established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology --which already serve as the foundations for cybersecurity standards from Finra and the SEC.
"FCI is proud to serve as a resource in alignment with FINRA's dedication to safeguarding financial services organizations,” said Brian Edelman, FCI CEO, in released comments. “We appreciate FINRA's extensive selection process and the opportunity to provide FINRA members complete cyber solutions including identification, protection, detection, response and recovery."
The program also includes solutions from Entreda and BlueAlly, according to the Finra website.
Though Santa Clara, Calif.-based Entreda did not announce its participation in the program, the firm has recently offered some of its Endpoint Monitoring and Remediation suite free-of-charge to the advisors already using its tools. Entreda claims the suite helps bolster advisors’ cybersecurity when working over residential internet services.
Cary, N.C.-based BlueAlly, another managed security service provider, offers a cloud-based suite of five cybersecurity platforms: security information and event management, log management system, vulnerability management system, two-factor authentication service, endpoint threat detection and response. The firm also provides consulting, managed infrastructure and managed firewall services.
Finra’s messaging states that the products featured in the Preferred Pricing Program are being offered solely as a convenience – they are not endorsed by Finra and there are no requirements that member firms use the tools in the program. Finra is not compensated by the companies participating in the program.