Beyond technological solutions, firms should reinforce to advisors that corporate and home-office personnel are on the same page with them in their goal—to protect advisors and clients and put advisors in a position to thrive. To that end, firms should collaborate closely with advisors to ensure they fully internalize best cybersecurity practices into their infrastructure and operations.

The shift toward an expanded advisor-client relationship in the post-Reg BI landscape has already begun. Both sides have come to expect a higher level of accessibility, convenience and transparency in their engagements, but neither would be served well by an “every advisor for themselves” approach to combatting cyber threats.

To accommodate the gamut of cyber preparedness and raise everyone to the same high standard—from smaller practices, to branch offices, to home offices—firms should take full advantage of their scale, resources and reach to implement a unified approach to cybersecurity that is both integrated and highly adaptable.

Jason Lish is chief security, privacy and data officer at Advisor Group, one of the nation’s largest networks of independent financial advisors, serving over 7,000 advisors and overseeing $268 billion in client assets.

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