IT and cyber security for firms the FCA — and the fraudsters — take a keen interest in
For financial advisers, wealth managers and brokers who handle money and life-changing client data, and who answer to a regulator that expects your systems to be as sound as your advice. We build the security and the evidence trail around how a regulated financial firm actually operates.
The problems we solve for financial services firms
You hold what criminals want most
People's money and the personal and financial data that moves it — in one place. That makes an IFA or broking firm a far higher-value target than its size suggests, and payment-redirection and impersonation fraud don't care how many staff you have.
The FCA expects you to evidence it
The FCA doesn't name Cyber Essentials — but operational resilience (PS21/3), SYSC systems-and-controls, Consumer Duty and SM&CR all require you to identify, manage and evidence cyber and operational risk. Cyber Essentials is the recognised baseline that shows you've done the fundamentals.
Your PI and cyber insurer are asking
Professional-indemnity and cyber policies now routinely question your controls — holding Cyber Essentials can change your cover and premium, and every certificate bundles £25,000 of cyber insurance for firms under £20m turnover.
The worst moment to find out is the real one
A regulatory visit, a PI renewal or a client's stolen deposit is the worst possible time to discover your controls don't stand up. These requirements renew annually — which is why we run it as an ongoing service.
How we help
Client money & payment-fraud defence
Email anti-impersonation, attachment and link protection, and the controls that stop authorised-push-payment and bank-detail-change fraud aimed squarely at your clients' funds.
Client & financial data protection
The personal, financial and suitability data you're obliged to protect — backed up, access-controlled and recoverable, with the audit trail the FCA expects.
Cyber Essentials, mapped to your obligations
Certified and kept certified, and mapped to the operational-resilience and SYSC evidence you need to show anyway — one piece of work, two jobs done.
Business continuity for important business services
“Important business services” that stop are now a regulatory problem, not just an inconvenience. We build the resilience and tested recovery to match.
We look after the adviser, wealth and broking platforms where your regulated business actually lives — as seriously as the email and laptops.
Why Smart Path IT
Cyber Essentials certified
We hold Cyber Essentials ourselves (verifiable via the IASME registry) — the baseline we help you reach is one we live by.
FCA-context aware
We build controls and evidence with operational resilience, SYSC and Consumer Duty in mind — so what we deliver maps to what you have to demonstrate.
UK-based and responsive
Remote-first and UK-wide, working to UK GDPR, with a partner who picks up when client money or a deadline is on the line.
For insurance & mortgage brokers — a partnership, not just a service
If you broke cyber or professional cover, your clients increasingly need Cyber Essentials to get insured — affordably, or at all. We're the partner you refer them to: we get them certified (with £25k cover bundled), they become easier to place, and you look good for making the introduction. A referral structure that actually helps your clients — ask us how it works.
Ask us how it worksFrequently asked questions
Does the FCA actually require Cyber Essentials?
Not by name — but its operational-resilience, SYSC and Consumer Duty rules all require you to manage and evidence cyber risk, and Cyber Essentials is the recognised baseline that demonstrates it. It's the cleanest way to show a regulator, or an insurer, that the fundamentals are in place.
We're tiny — are we really a target?
Especially so. Small financial firms are targeted precisely because they hold money and data but often have lighter defences than a bank. Payment-redirection and impersonation fraud don't care how many staff you have.
Do you understand Acturis / Intelliflo / our platform?
Yes — we look after the adviser, wealth and broking platforms as seriously as the email and laptops. Your back-office stack is where your regulated business lives.
Can Cyber Essentials help our PI or cyber insurance?
Often, yes — insurers increasingly ask about your controls, certification can improve cover and premium, and every certificate includes £25,000 of cyber insurance. We'll factor that into how we scope it.
See where your firm stands
Get a free Cyber Essentials gap-check — see exactly which of the five controls would stop you certifying today, before the FCA, an insurer or a client's loss forces the question.
Smart Path IT is an IT & security provider, not a regulated financial firm or compliance consultancy. We handle the technology and controls; you and your compliance advisers own the regulatory judgements.