The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), in partnership with the SPARK Institute, today announced the creation of the Retirement Industry Council (RIC) to help promote voluntary information sharing and threat intelligence to members within the retirement industry that administer plans like 401(k), individual retirement accounts and pension funds.
The RIC was created to provide a forum for, and to assist firms involved in the $28 trillion1 retirement investment community. Participants in the council will either be members of the FS-ISAC or members of the SPARK Institute’s Data Security Oversight Board (DSOB). The RIC will share information about solving security challenges and focus on the combination of physical and cybersecurity threats faced by the retirement industry. Through collaboration, the council will also provide trusted best practices on security controls and priorities.
“Information sharing of cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices is one of the most effective ways to stay ahead of cyberattacks,” said Bill Nelson, chief executive officer of FS-ISAC. “Expanding FSISAC coverage to include retirement assets is yet another way to ensure the entire financial services sector can protect their customer accounts in every way and throughout each life stage.”
The council is a subset of the FS-ISAC Securities Industry Risk Group (SIRG), with members sharing information related to solving challenges specific to organizations in the securities industry. The SIRG is comprised of more than 300 FS-ISAC members in various roles including chief information security officers, chief risk officers, information technology operations and corporate security. Members involved in the securities industry include asset managers, broker-dealers, hedge funds, private equities, securities exchanges, payments and transfer agents, banks and insurers.
“Having SPARK partner with the FS-ISAC through the RIC helps our members connect and share information on cyberthreats for the industry,” said Doug Peterson, the chair of SPARK’s DSOB and the chief information security officer at Empower Retirement.
SPARK’s DSOB is made up of 37 industry representatives with members from both the record keeping industry and plan consultants that serve the interest of plan sponsors.
¹ According to ICI Q4 2017 data. This is a US figure.
About the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC): The FS-ISAC is a non-profit corporation that was established in 1999 and is funded by its member firms. With about 7,000 members worldwide, FSISAC is a member-driven organization whose mission is to help assure the resilience and continuity of the global financial services infrastructure and individual firms against acts that could significantly impact the sector’s ability to provide services critical to the orderly function of the global economy. FS-ISAC shares threat and vulnerability information, conducts coordinated contingency planning exercises, manages rapid response communications for both cyber and physical events, conducts education and training programs, and fosters collaborations with and among other key sectors and government agencies. For more about FS-ISAC, follow us on Twitter @FSISAC and join the discussion on LinkedIn or visit www.fsisac.com.
About SPARK Institute
SPARK Institute represents the interests of a broad based cross section of retirement plan service providers and investment managers, including members that are banks, mutual fund companies, insurance companies, third party administrators, trade clearing firms and benefits consultants. Through the combined expertise of its member companies, the Institute provides research, education, testimony and comments on pending legislative and regulatory issues to members of Congress and relevant Government agency officials. Collectively, its members serve approximately 85 million participants in 401(k) and other defined contribution plans.
FS-ISAC/ Sheltered Harbor media contact:
Jane Khodos
jkhodos@fsisac.com
+1.703.674.6566
SPARK Institute
Tim Rouse
tim@sparkinstitute.org
+1. 508.838.1919