Monica Cope, Chief Operating Officer at Veratta, said:
“The increased use of cloud computing and web-based applications, coupled with the evolving pensions landscape, means information is exposed to a much wider variety of threats and vulnerabilities than it has even been before. This is creating an abundance of very serious security risks which are not being given enough due attention either by the industry or the government.
“More rigorous controls, particularly around processes and technology, should be enforced upon organisations handling sensitive pension scheme information to protect the confidentiality of information and to minimise the likelihood of unauthorised (accidental or deliberate) disclosure. As an industry we are behind the curve when it comes to information security and unless it is addressed we could find ourselves dealing with huge problems caused by fraudsters, quite aside from a population of extremely dissatisfied and disgruntled members and pensioners. Pensions have already been through the mill when it comes to fraud and scammers in years gone by, a landscape it has scarcely recovered from in terms of public trust. It is crucial, for the future of pensions and, more importantly, for the comfort and security of members in their retirement - indeed so they have something to retire on - that, as an industry, information and data security is taken just as seriously as other industries.”
Cope added: “Our ideal scenario would be the introduction of a mandatory Information Security Framework by the new Government, incorporating the basic controls of the Cyber Essentials Scheme and key elements of ISO27001, the international standard describing best practice for information security. The framework would supplement the legislative requirements of the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations. Furthermore, the framework should address the data quality issues which are prevalent in the pensions industry, seeking to enhance and preserve data integrity and availability.”
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