On 21 January 2016, the Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB) published a press release (dated 19 January 2016) summarising lessons learned from its first table top cyber-attack simulation for hedge fund managers in London.
The aim of the simulation was to explore the response of hedge fund managers to three scenarios:
- Data theft and leakage of sensitive data.
- Financial infrastructure attack.
- Crypto-ransomware.
Lessons learned from the simulation included:
- Confusion over responsibilities can prevent an effective response. Cyber security should not be considered as just an IT issue, given the legal, compliance, investor relations and reputational issues involved.
- Certain types of cyber-attacks may exceed a manager’s internal response capabilities. They should be prepared to quickly obtain external legal and IT expertise.
- It is important to prepare in advance using a cyber-security incident response plan.
In September 2015, the HFSB published a memo on cyber security for hedge fund managers
ALSO FSA & FCA good practices in managing data security risk should be considered