Majority of broker-dealers report having experienced a cyber attack

Nearly 90 percent of broker-dealers and 74 percent of registered investment advisers have experienced cyber attacks either directly or via one or more of their vendors, a study from the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) found.

In its cybersecurity study of more 57 broker-dealers and 49 registered investment advisers, the OCIE reported that the majority of broker-dealers reported having received fraudulent emails seeking to transfer client funds, and more than a quarter of those firms said the losses pertaining to those emails totaled more than $5,000. 

The report also noted, however, that no single loss exceeded $75,000. Additionally, only seven percent of firms who had received a phony email reported it to law enforcement or other regulatory agencies.

Additionally, 93 percent of brokers and 83 percent of advisers reported to have adopted written security policies.