FAMILY OFFICES: New White Paper Lifts The Lid On Family Offices’ Insider Security Threats

Threats to family offices from those who work within it, and other persons, need to be fully understood and prepared for, argues the author of this new report.

Some of the most serious security threats to family offices come from those inside, such as employees and associates, so these organizations must prepare to handle and, where possible, pre-empt them, according to a new white paper on the topic.

Produced by Presage Global a risk and business advisory firm created by noted family offices expert Edward Marshall (pictured), the paper is entitled Combating Insider Threats in Family Offices, and runs through what inside threats look like, why family offices should develop a program to counter them, popular misconceptions about such threats, and more.

As the report says in its opening summary: “Insider threats can come from a variety of sources, including employees, former employees, contractors, vendors, and family members. The motivations for these threats vary, including financial gain, personal grievances, ideological beliefs, and commonly simple negligence.”

Elsewhere, the report says: “With great technological innovations have come unprecedented conveniences and opportunities, of course. Yet, these same innovations have also ushered in novel risks. The same advancements that empower family offices to efficiently manage their affairs have become avenues for malicious insiders to exploit.

“Given the increase in opportunity, one significant challenge that family offices increasingly face is managing insider threats,” it says.

The report underlines the importance of family offices’ security requirements – physical as well as digital – given that these organizations collectively oversee hundreds of billions of dollars in assets in the US and worldwide.

Presage is a trusted partner to C-suites and boards, family offices, and investors. Marshall – a member of this news service’s editorial board – is a family office insider and a family office researcher, advisor, and author. He is also a risk and threat management specialist, working with families to reduce their cyber, physical, financial, operational, and reputational risk profiles.

Marshall is a member of the advisory board and co-heads the Family Office Initiative at the UHNW Institute, a think tank organized to support family offices and UHNW individuals by promoting best practices, professional development, and positive change in the family office and family wealth field. He also co-authored the book, The Family Office: A Comprehensive Guide for Advisers, Practitioners, and Students.

Before he created Presage Global, Marshall held family office positions at Dentons, Credit Suisse (which he joined from Booz Allen Hamilton), Citibank, and Boston Private. Previously, he was a research assistant at The Kennan Institute and has lectured as an adjunct professor at the Henley-Putnam School of Strategic Security. Marshall began his career in the public sector, working for the federal government in the United States and abroad.