Abacus Group, a provider of hosted cloud IT solutions for alternative investment funds, has welcomed the launch of the UK’s new National CyberSecurity Strategy, which includes stepped up efforts to combat data breaches, identify theft, fraud and money laundering in the financial services sector.

Abacus says its services already meet or exceed these standards.
 
Abacus, which in October announced a major expansion of its services and the opening of a second data centre in London, provides cyber defences to its more than 400 clients in the alternative investment field globally.
 
Noting that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been increasing its requirements for cyber defence compliance on the same investors, Abacus CEO Chris Grandi (pictured) says the firm is committed to continually investing in research and development to maintain vigilance in both the US and UK markets..
 
“One of our core disciplines is maintaining a secure platform for funds to operate from,” says Grandi. “As the amount of regulatory responsibility grows, investment firms are addressing whether they have the resources available to address and manage them effectively. With respect to cybersecurity, it will be important to leverage third-party technology and cybersecurity experts to assist with adherence to regulatory requirements in the UK and in the US.”
 
In 2015, Abacus partnered with Foresite, a provider of managed security services, to enhance cybersecurity protection for clients using the AbacusFLEX platform. This collaboration enhanced and added new layers of protection within the platform to help clients identify, respond to and recover from cyber threats. It includes 24x7x365 monitoring and analysis by a security operations centre that responds to alerts and takes proactive measures to reduce risk. 
 
Abacus recently enhanced the AbacusFLEX platform by leveraging Varonis’s auditing and reporting capabilities provided by the DatAdvantage technology platform.
 
Tom Cole, Abacus’s UK operations director, says the new UK government cybersecurity initiative sets out decisive action to both protect the citizens of the UK as well as London as a centre of financial services.
 
“It is vital that the investment community in London embrace leading security technologies and disciplines to address the evolving threat landscape,” Cole adds. “Abacus Group is committed to continuously monitor emerging threats and countermeasures to best protect our clients.”