Protecting our clients’ personal information is our top priority as a firm. Over the past year we embarked upon an IT audit and have taken a number of security measures to ensure we have the most robust systems and processes of data protection in place.
Here is a summary of the changes we have made:
- We moved from having a physical server in our office to a secure remote, cloud-based server
- We have implemented a secure file sharing system through Microsoft OneDrive for sending private documents instead of directly via email
- We implemented a secure password protector called LastPass to store all of our computer passwords and login information for all websites we use
- We have installed two-step verification on our cell phones for access to all computer passwords and login information
- We installed software on our cell phones that gives us the ability to remotely wipe them if lost or stolen
- We now use NPC Dataguard encrypted laptops and tablets which can be remotely wiped if lost or stolen
- We installed a secure guest wifi network in the office separate from the network our computers and tablets use
- When working remotely out of the office, we use a secure VPN (Virtual Personal Network) to access our internal systems
- We have moved to become a paperless office so we don’t have physical files that could be accessed or stolen. You will notice in future in-person review meetings that our advisors will be using a tablet
Although these measures were implemented with the sole intention of securing your information, we have discovered something equally important. We have been able to shift seamlessly from our physical office environment to completely secure home offices for our entire team. We have no need for paper files and we can continue to serve your needs remotely at the highest level. We are happy to have a small silver lining to this health crisis.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out.