RSM Joins Sheltered Harbor’s Alliance Partner Community

The audit, tax and consulting services firm RSM US LLP has joined the Sheltered Harbor alliance partner community in both an assurance and advisory capacity.

A not-for-profit subsidiary of Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), Sheltered Harbor is the industry standard for protecting and recovering customer account data in the event that a catastrophic event like a cyber-attack causes critical systems, including backups, to fail. It is currently open to U.S. banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, asset managers, and service providers of all sizes, and has a critical mass of industry adoption.

As a partner, RSM will help Sheltered Harbor participants prepare, plan, design, implement, operationalize, and adhere to the Sheltered Harbor standard for resiliency.

“We believe that our financial services knowledge combined with our focus on serving middle market clients puts us in a unique position to strategically advance Sheltered Harbor’s mission,” said John Brackett, national leader of risk advisory services at RSM US LLP. “With deep experience serving financial services organizations, we understand the challenging environment these organizations face. Managing risk is a significant component of any successful business plan, and we look forward to helping organizations pursue this certification.”

The Sheltered Harbor standard consists of three pillars:

Data Vault – Institutions back up critical customer account data each night in the Sheltered Harbor standard format, either managing their own Vault or using their service provider;
Sheltered Harbor Resiliency Planning – Institutions prepare the business and technical processes and key decision arrangements to be activated in the case of a Sheltered Harbor event where all other options to restore critical systems – including backups – have failed; and
Certification – Upon successful completion of implementation, participants become eligible to achieve Sheltered Harbor Certification. Participants adopt a robust set of prescribed internal controls and perform professional audits to ensure compliance.

“With cybersecurity incidents on the rise, protection of data is paramount,” says Daimon Geopfert, national leader of security and privacy risk consulting at RSM US LLP. “Middle market leaders have recognized that they are a prime target, and they are seeking new ways to protect their businesses and customers. We are pleased to partner with Sheltered Harbor to support our financial services clients in the case of a catastrophic event.”

“We’re proud to join other industry thought leaders in Sheltered Harbor’s alliance partner community,” said Hussain Hasan, national leader of technology risk consulting at RSM US LLP. “We guide our clients on the most critical technology issues affecting their businesses, and believe it’s imperative that all financial services companies take proactive steps to maintain the security of their most valuable information assets, such as customer account data. By taking advantage of the Sheltered Harbor solution, financial services firms are not only protecting themselves, but are further strengthening the industry’s resiliency capabilities.”

“We look forward to working with RSM to help financial institutions adopt and implement the Sheltered Harbor standard,” said Sheltered Harbor CEO Trey Maust. “Our mission is to promote financial sector stability and preserve public confidence in the financial system in the face of an extended systems outage or destructive cyberattack. Mid-sized institutions are crucial players in our nation’s financial system, and RSM will be a key partner in achieving our goal of 100% industry participation in the initiative.”

Joining Sheltered Harbor entitles participants access to the standard, support content and experts to help with implementation, as well as the knowledge that the institution is being proactive in protecting its customer account data, its own business, and public confidence in the U.S. financial system.