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As firms respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by increasingly transitioning to remote and telework arrangements, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued an alert on measures that firms and associated persons can take to address resulting cybersecurity vulnerabilities:

  • Measures for Firms. Firms should take steps to ensure network security.  This may include providing

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On January 22, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”)[1] released its 2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter (the “Letter”).  The Letter highlights material new priorities for FINRA examinations in the coming year, as well as priorities in areas of ongoing concern.  The topics highlighted in this year’s Letter reflect FINRA’s increasing focus on its members’ interaction with, and adoption of, innovative financial technologies, as well as its implicit acknowledgement of the ability for such innovations to assist in regulatory compliance.  The new priorities highlighted in the Letter include several related to FinTech, including online distribution platforms, use of regulatory technology (or “RegTech”), and supervision of digital asset businesses.  In priority areas of ongoing concern, the Letter confirmed that FINRA will continue to focus on reviewing the adequacy of firms’ cybersecurity programs.  Below we detail FINRA’s discussion of these priorities and analyze them in the context of other recent guidance and enforcement actions.
Continue Reading FINRA 2019 Examination Priorities Letter Includes Focus on FinTech and Cybersecurity

On December 20, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) released a Report on Selected Cybersecurity Practices for broker-dealer firms.  This report reflects FINRA’s current perspective on the cybersecurity threat landscape based on observations from its examinations of securities firms.  Below we discuss the report’s key observations and contextualize these insights for members of the financial industry.
Continue Reading FINRA Provides Updated Cybersecurity Guidance to Broker-Dealer Firms

On January 8, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) published its 2018 Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter, which provides an overview of particular areas of regulatory focus in the upcoming year.  Under the category of operational and financial risks, FINRA specifically identifies cybersecurity as a high-priority area that member broker-dealer firms “may wish to consider as they identify opportunities to improve their compliance, supervisory and risk management programs” and commends the firms that have already devoted resources to this important area.  The letter notes that FINRA will assess the effectiveness of member firms’ cybersecurity programs at guarding sensitive information (including personally identifiable information) as well as such firms’ cybersecurity preparedness, technical defenses and resiliency measures.  FINRA also reminds member firms that they are required to have policies and procedures in place to evaluate whether a suspicious activity report must be filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) upon identification of a cybersecurity incident.  The letter also advises review of the 2017 Report on FINRA Examination Findings for further information about FINRA’s cybersecurity concerns and observations regarding effective cybersecurity practices.
Continue Reading FINRA Announces 2018 Priorities and Issues First-Ever Report on Examination Findings