External IT, a provider of unified cloud computing solutions to financial services clients, has launched its Security Awareness Training (SAT) offering, which serves to educate financial advisors and their employees on best practices for using corporate information technology (IT) systems. The program highlights the most commonly overlooked source of data breaches — employee-related negligence.
Through launching SAT, External IT aims to cultivate a corporate culture for advisors that encourages responsible use of IT systems at every level of the company. The program contains phish testing, reporting, and online training. External IT then re-tests and measures the effectiveness of the program and delivers the results to the compliance manager of the firm.
“We’ve come to a point in the financial services space where cybersecurity is not only paid attention to, but has become a differentiator among firms,” said Justin Kapahi, technical director of External IT. “But for all of the attention cybersecurity is getting, there’s one important point that is being missed — the majority of security threats are actually originating from inside the walls of these firms. Information is shared through non-secured programs, passwords are being carelessly generated — the list goes on. We’ve developed SAT to provide advisors with clear security guidelines to ensure their information is protected from the inside-out, at every level.”
In addition to SAT, External IT has launched the Policy and Procedure Development and Lifecycle Management offering to educate firms on the latest SEC and FINRA mandates, placing advisors in training programs to ensure they are operating under the industry’s rapidly developing compliance guidelines. The program also includes a quarterly cybersecurity update and a customized yearly cybersecurity report.
For more information regarding External IT, visit www.externalit.com.
For media inquiries, please contact externalit@ficommpartners.com.
About External IT
External IT is a leading provider of unified cloud computing solutions to Financial Services Clients including RIAs and Broker Dealers. The company’s cloud-based solution is delivered via its unique OS33 Cloud Desktop platform, which provides all of a user’s applications and data simply in one place. The company offers integrated managed services that provide everything from end user helpdesk to data migrations, nationwide on-site assistance, and remote management of clients’ networks. Founded in 2000, External IT has been delivering IT services for nearly 15 years and is a recognized innovator and pioneer in the cloud computing space. For more information, visit www.externalit.com.