I know that talking IT lingo and exploring the digital realm is not the “norm” for marketing advice; but I think that it is important to protect myself and my clients, and I wanted to share what I have learned while exploring this very different topic so that you can protect yourself, your clients, and your brand.
With today’s use of online accounts and vast amounts of digital information, hackers are everywhere. They have even more sophisticated tools and knowledge to be able to hack into virtually any system and cause irreparable damage. As a financial advisor, there are many things you can do to go above and beyond the standard password requirements to help protect your accounts from being hacked and secure digital information.
Use Two-Step Authentication
Two-step or dual authentication will help ensure that all of you and your client’s information is secure in your system. You can look into which of your personal and business accounts, including email, financial accounts, logins, etc., have the option of this added measure of security.
If you have an online account system for your clients, consider looking into the possibility of offering this to them as well. The 2014 article A Two-Step Plan to Stop Hackers from The New York Times goes into great detail of how consumers feel about access to their financial information and explains that they have a strong desire to protect it. By offering this option to your clients, you are not only showing them that you care about the protection of their financial information, but that you are in-the-know with new technology options and are willing to do everything you can to keep their information safe.
You can expand even further on two-step authentication by using something called a security token. This is a way for an online account to require not only something you know (a password) but something you have (like a cell phone) as well. Some online accounts will send you a one-time use passcode or token via text message. This code allows them to make a better assumption that it is you trying to log into your account. Security tokens provide an added layer of protection that virtually no hacker will bother with.
Another option is using use Google Authenticator. This provides you with a six to eight-digit, one-time password via text message to access your Google services. With your username, password, and the verification code, you can gain access.
Use a Password Manager
We all have a lot of passwords that are constantly being changed and updated. As an independent financial advisor, running your own business like me, it comes with even more accounts and more passwords. The best way to control all of that secure information is to use a password manager.
There are many options out there for password management tools. This article in PC News covers the most popular ones and compares their pros, cons, and price. When considering which tool to use you will find that there is a lot of debate about password management tools that store your information on a “cloud-based” system, even though it is encrypted. There is also some debate about the value and risk of storing your information locally on your own machine. To each their own and in the end it is a personal decision.
There isn’t much debate about the importance of using unique passwords. You have heard it said over and over again that you should use not only strong passwords but also a different password, for every account you have. Each password should contain a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters. Some password managers provide password generation tools that will automatically produce unique passwords for you and then you can just save them in the database.
While using this type of tool will make your digital life easier, it shouldn’t be too easy. Never turn on the automatic log-in feature of your password manager. By doing this, you allow anyone that sits at your computer to log-in to all of your saved accounts. If you have a password management tool in place, you shouldn’t have to remember any passwords – except this one! Make sure to keep all of your information safe and turn off this feature.
Take the time to review and consider some of these recommendations, and you can decide what is best for you and your financial firm. Even if you only implement one or two of the suggestions listed you have made an extra effort to better protect yourself and your digital information from potential online threats.
Disclaimer: I am not an IT professional. These are my personal recommendations and ones that I have implemented and found successful in helping to protect myself. As always you should consult a professional regarding your specific needs, hardware, and software. Your custodian or broker/dealer is also a good resource, and likely provides additional requirements and/or recommendations.
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