ViCyber successfully enters the financial services market to solve cyber risk management for advisers at scale
Aastha Gupta
Australian-based cyber security software company, ViCyber, has attracted thousands of advisory firms since entering the financial advice market, reflecting the enormous demand for cyber risk management solutions that meet the specific needs of small-to-medium advice businesses.
Leveraging its established capabilities and track record in retail, healthcare and professional services, ViCyber launched its purpose-built cyber risk management solution for financial advisory firms almost 18 months ago.
Dr Aastha Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of ViCyber, said the business identified a gap in the market for cyber risk management solutions that are fit for purpose and affordable for advice SMEs.
“Cyber risk management is manual, multi-faceted and, historically, cost prohibitive but we have made it accessible to thousands of advice firms and our aim is to democratise it for SMEs,” she said.
“Our solution automates and scales monitoring compliance and provides evidence-based cyber protection and reporting so businesses can protect themselves against cyber threats and effectively manage their obligations to clients, regulators and other stakeholders.”
ViCyber counts many of the country’s leading licensees and advisory firms as clients, although it can’t reveal names to protect the privacy of clients and adhere to their cyber security protocols.
Dr Gupta said the importance and value of cyber security and resilience was only increasing given the imminent threat cyber criminals posed, citing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s latest Corporate Plan and open letter to in May urging AFSLs and market participants to “strengthen the cyber resilience fundamentals” that underpin their businesses with “urgency, focus and accountability”.
“ASIC has reinforced that cyber resilience obligations are not dependent on whether an organisation suffers a successful cyberattack,” she said.
“Regulators expect AFSLs to demonstrate that cyber risk governance, controls, resources and oversight are proportionate to the size, nature and complexity of their business.”
ViCyber’s cyber resilience platform for financial advice businesses is specifically designed to meet the governance, risk management and regulatory requirements of AFSLs. Unlike generic cyber security solutions, ViCyber enables licensees to assess, manage, govern and evidence cyber resilience against ASIC’s expectations through a single integrated platform.
