SEC Cybersecurity Risk Alert Urges Firms To Protect Against Ransomware

On May 17, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a risk alert highlighting the importance of registered broker-dealers, investment advisers and investment companies taking appropriate steps to protect themselves against ransomware in light of this past week's WannaCry attack.¹

Following its recent cybersecurity sweep exam of 75 firms, OCIE observed that firms of all sizes should implement the following measures:

• Conduct Risk Assessments. According to the risk alert, 5% of the broker-dealers and 26% of investment advisers and investment companies examined did not conduct periodic risk assessments of critical systems to identify cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities and the potential business consequences.