Cyber Security
Questions about the Safety and Security of your Information
What can I do to protect my personal and private information from a cyber-attack? Questions about the safety & security of your personal information
What can I do to protect my personal and private information from a cyber-attack?
- Ensure your anti-virus program is up-to-date: Regularly install operating system and software patches as they become available.
- Enable security on your WIFI network: Make sure you’ve created a unique network name with a strong password (that’s different from the default administrator password on your wireless router). Additionally, avoid using unknown WiFi networks and minimize using public WiFi hotspots.
- Take advantage of the My Documents feature in LPL’s Account View and iDoc tools: iDoc allows you to upload important documents directly to Account View. Both of these are controlled within LPL’s strong authentication and security protocols.
- Use strong passwords to protect your online profiles and don’t share them: Each person in your family should have their own unique password to access the system. Don’t share access or passwords with other people.
- Secure your devices: Take full advantage the password functions available on your computer, laptop, and mobile devices by requiring a password after a certain period of inactivity). Also, for mobile devices and laptops, be sure to have remote-wipe capabilities enabled in case they are lost or stolen.
- Be careful about what you click or download: Beware of any suspicious links you may come across, including in emails or text messages, as they may lead to malicious websites. When downloading applications, make sure they are from a reputable store (like iTunes or Google Play). Apps within official stores are vetted for malware and other suspicious activity before being released to the public.
- Check your permissions: Check the access to which segments of your computer or mobile device that an application requires, including web-based applications, browsers, and native applications.
Is it safe to use LPL’s technology, such as eSignature, eDelivery, email or Account View?
Yes. We take online privacy and security very seriously and go to great lengths to protect against cyber-attacks. We continually update our servers and equipment and have a security controls that safeguard personal and private information. We have a dedicated security team that ensures our technology products are designed to protect personal and private client information. We are committed to continuously evaluate and refine our security and privacy programs to safeguard against cybersecurity threats.
Is it safer to do business electronically or on paper?
In many ways it’s safer to do business electronically because sensitive information on paper can be stolen, photocopied, or lost in the mail. We encourage you to use electronic delivery and electronic signature because our online access is secured properly both at the client level with passwords and by LPL’s system security controls. With hardcopy documentation, we recommend that you lock and protect any documents with confidential or sensitive information and shred any documents you wish to discard.
I heard about the recent attacks at large companies in the news, as well as the various online threats like the Heartbleed Bug and Shellshock Bug. How can I be sure that your office or LPL Financial is protected?
You can rest assured that any of these kinds of attacks are reviewed by our security team and our systems are updated to protect against those security risks. If we believe any of our clients personal or private data was compromised, we would let you know about the attack and what you should do as a result.
#1-322353 5/5/2015
