The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said it has launched the Financial Intelligence Fusion Center (FIFC) to share information about cybersecurity and fraud threats to its members.
A secure portal for FINRA and its members, FIFC will serve as a threat intelligence sharing portal to help investors and firms protect themselves against harm. FIFC will collect, analyze and disseminate threat intelligence, and will leverage FINRA’s existing partnerships to gather input from other government and private sector partners. The platform was developed as part of FINRA Forward, to improve the association’s effectiveness and efficiency in protecting investors and safeguarding market integrity.
“The Financial Intelligence Fusion Center will be a powerhouse that facilitates timely intelligence sharing to benefit member firms, their customers and the securities industry,” Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer at FINRA said. “As cybersecurity and fraud threats evolve, this type of innovation and coordination with our member firms—which is made possible because of our self-regulatory organization model—is essential in building a more resilient environment. Member firm engagement with the FIFC will bolster that defense system and will strengthen trust in our markets, while better protecting investors.”
FINRA said the FIFC pilot program started last year with a diverse group of member firms, whose gave feedback to strengthen the portal’s functionality and effectiveness. Through the pilot program, member firms have accessed FINRA’s threat intelligence products and shared cybersecurity and fraud threat intelligence through FIFC. Member firms are encouraged to opt in to the FIFC to gain access to the intelligence.