Cyber crime is building to tsunami-like proportions and hedge fund managers are not immune from the threat yet there still appears to be a degree of naivety.  According to Carl Chapman (pictured), COO of Capital Support, a leading managed IT services provider, C-level executives tend to overlook the importance of having a solid security risk programme. "They still think cybersecurity is an IT issue but it's not; it's a business issue.    "One of the approaches we've taken with some of our customers is to explain that cybersecurity is really just risk management and should be treated in the same

Hedge funds are an integral part of the financial fabric, and, whilst they may not have the same capital profile as large investment banks, the Bank of England is advising that they strengthen their resilience in order to recover quickly from attacks. In the Bank of England's July 2015 Financial Stability Report, they write: "A successful attack on a systemic institution or vital infrastructure (including non-financial infrastructure that the financial sector relies on, such as utilities) could cascade throughout the financial system."  In May 2014, the BoE established a vulnerability testing framework – CBEST. Although this is aimed primarily at

Today's world has never been more interwoven. Cybersecurity risks have grown exponentially as global businesses have become more integrated with counterparties and system architectures have grown in complexity. In the opinion of Gerhard Grueter, co-founder of Lawson Conner, a market leader in compliance solutions for the investment fund industry, the topic is only going to get bigger.  "Today, cybersecurity has become a genuine commercial issue that can bring down entire firms because of reputation risk and regulatory risk. The threat today is nothing like what it was five years ago. It is now an active market of cyber criminals deliberately

There is a tendency when faced with a potentially serious threat to take extreme measures in life. Cybersecurity is no different. Many firms are looking for a quick fix, even if it comes with a high price tag. However, should managers take a more balanced and common sense approach to tackling the issue of cybersecurity, before spending vital operating capital on expensive individual solutions? "Frequently, hedge funds are led to believe that the best way to protect themselves against cyber threats is to invest in expensive intrusion detection systems (IDS) or sophisticated firewalls," says James Tedman (pictured), Managing Director, ACA

Cybercrime could extract up to 20 per cent of the global economic value created by the Internet through fraud and espionage, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Following last year's Cyber-Security Risk Alert, the SEC's Division of Investment Management released guidance this April to help investment managers prevent external attacks.  "The guidance can be boiled down into three key areas of recommendation: assessment, strategy and implementation," says Bob Guilbert (pictured). Managing Director at Eze Castle Integration, the leading provider of IT solutions and private cloud services to more than 650 global alternative fund managers.  Guilbert outlines the

With cyber risks increasing year-on-year, and regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (`SEC') taking an increasingly prominent role in assessing the preparedness of broker-dealers and registered investment advisors, establishing cybersecurity best practices is not only useful; it's a necessity. Cybersecurity is a complex web and as such there are many areas to consider. The best place for any manager to start is to take a step back and assess the risk of their overall business environment.  "It should be woven into business process and supported by senior management. It should not be relegated as being just an IT