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PRESS RELEASE: Kander Issues Investor Alert on Cybersecurity

 Office of Missouri Secretary of State
– Jason Kander –


For Immediate Release: February 10, 2015
Contact: Stephanie Fleming, (573) 526-0949

Kander Issues Investor Alert on Cybersecurity 

Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jason Kander today issued an Investor Alert encouraging Missourians to ask their investment adviser or broker about how their personal and financial information is being protected when communicating over the Internet.

The alert follows a nationwide cybersecurity survey conducted by Kander’s office and the North American Association of State Securities Administrators (NASAA).

“No amount of caution is too much when it comes to investing,” Kander said. “Making sure your investment adviser or broker has proper safeguards in place to protect against threats of a cyber-breach can help prevent the loss of your hard-earned savings.”

Missourians are encouraged to ask their investment adviser or broker dealer questions such as:

Does your firm use secure email when contacting clients? Secure email may include password-protected documents, links that become inactive after a period of time, or the use of procedures to authenticate the identity of the sender or information being sent, like a unique PIN.

Has your firm or office directly or indirectly experienced theft, loss, unauthorized exposure or unauthorized use of, or access to, customer information? It’s good to find out whether your firm or its clients have suffered due to cyber vulnerability– and what protections they put in place to prevent it from happening again.

Does your firm or office use a website with a client portal? Most investment firms allow clients real-time access to their accounts through web-based client portals. Be sure your firm includes an encryption or multi-step verification process to access your individual account.

How does your firm backup electronic files, and how often are they updated? It’s good to know if there are multiple copies of your client file and how frequently they are backed up. In the event of a natural disaster or security breach, knowing how frequently your firm backs up client information can help restore peace of mind that your information is safe.

What insurance does your firm provide in the event of a cybersecurity incident? Just as banks and financial institutions provide insurance coverage for most clients’ financial accounts, an investment firm typically will do the same. Ask your investment adviser or broker what their firm will cover in the event of a security breach.

For more information, visit www.MissouriSafeSavings.com or call 1-800-721-7996.

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Visit www.sos.mo.gov to learn more about the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State.