The last 18 months has found the financial industry in the spotlight for cybersecurity breaches, and as a result, the SEC and FINRA are ramping up their expectations regarding cybersecurity for the financial industry. This is based in large part on both the importance of the financial markets to the United States economy and the negative impact on customers of breaches and resulting identity thefts . With that said, based on recent reports, it appears that the concept of leading by example may not be on the table.
On June 24th, the Associated Press reported that “a CIA-backed technology company has found logins and passwords for 47 government agencies strewn across the Web – available for hackers, spies and thieves. According to Recorded Future, a social media data mining firm backed by the CIA’s venture capital arm, says in a report that login credentials for nearly every federal agency have been posted on open Internet sites for those who know where to look.”
This is disheartening news as it appears that government actions reflect that what’s good for the goose with respect to cybersecurity, may not be good for the gander. While no one can dispute the importance for the financial markets to achieve higher goals with respect to cybersecurity, one would hope that the government steps up to its duty to protect both the financial markets and our security as a county, and timely address its apparent cybersecurity weaknesses.
For the full Associated Press article, please Click Here.