ProEquities Launches Comprehensive Cybersecurity Platform To Drive Higher Protection Standards For Financial Advisors And Clients

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ProEquities, Inc., an independent financial advisory and broker-dealer firm that is a subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, today announced the launch of a comprehensive cybersecurity solutions platform to deliver an enhanced level of protections for the firm's financial advisors.  ProEquities rolled out this new unified platform in close collaboration with Entreda, a leading cybersecurity risk mitigation and compliance software firm.

The new platform features comprehensive and continuous cyber protection for the ProEquities financial advisors, including on their mobile devices, to enhance the security of their client data.  Other features of the industry-leading Entreda platform include protection against phishing attacks, the delivery of personalized training to advisors based on their individual computing habits, and a comprehensive reporting suite.  ProEquities is rolling out the new Entreda platform to all of its financial advisors at no added cost.

Chris Flint, President and CEO of ProEquities, said, "Financial advice firms and their advisors are operating in an era of escalating cybersecurity risk and are increasingly targeted by hackers who are both sophisticated and focused.  Unfortunately, much of our industry continues to rely on siloed cybersecurity systems, cobbled together across multiple service providers, that offer patchwork solutions to strategic challenges.  We're confident the launch of our comprehensive cybersecurity platform will not only enable our advisors to provide their clients with the best possible protections that exist today but will also help to set higher data integrity and protection standards across our industry."

The new Entreda cybersecurity platform implemented by ProEquities takes an innovative approach to addressing several critical areas:

• Systems and software safeguards.  The platform requires and ensures that effective and current versions of critical safeguards are in place, including anti-virus and anti-malware protection, firewalls and operating system updates.
• Physical device protection.  Additionally, the new platform ensures that encryption, passcodes, auto-locks and screen locks are operating to provide added layers of security against physical intrusion.
• Customized advisor training.  The platform contains a training component capable of providing tailored education to advisors as well as simulated phishing attacks to heighten advisor awareness. 
• Back-end reporting.  The platform also allows for home office monitoring of deficiencies in real time, with the added benefit of being able to push out immediate remediation where necessary.

While many in the industry have typically relied on separate vendors to tackle these potential trouble spots, the new platform customized for ProEquities is an integrated solution capable of managing all of them at once.  The platform is designed to work across devices, including desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets and is compatible with a variety of leading software programs commonly used by advisors.

Mr. Flint concluded, "Increased protection shouldn't come at the cost of decreased attention among advisors for their clients.  In this new fiduciary era, financial advisors need to focus on client-facing activities rather than become part-time IT experts just to address the rise of cyber threats to their businesses and clients.  Our new offering enables our advisors to maximize their time with client relationships as part of a turnkey platform that makes cybersecurity effective, seamless and easy."

ABOUT PROEQUITIES
Founded in 1985, ProEquities, member FINRA/SIPC, is an independent RIA and a broker/dealer. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, this wholly-owned subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation supports more than 700 independent advisors nationwide as investment advisor representatives and registered representatives, as well as advisors who work through hybrid service models. For more information on ProEquities, please visit www.Proequities.com.

ABOUT PROTECTIVE
Protective Life Corporation provides financial services through the production, distribution, and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the U.S. The flagship subsidiary, Protective Life Insurance Company, was founded in 1907. Protective's home office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had assets of approximately $79.6 billion. Protective Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750, "Dai-ichi"). For more information about Protective, please visit www.Protective.com.

ABOUT ENTREDA
Entreda developed its award-winning software platform, Unify, to help regulated industries protect client information and assets with the highest standards of security. Unify's cybersecurity policy enforcement software analyzes and monitors the servers, computers and tablets firms use in their business in order to verify enforcement of security best practices. Includes compliance with a comprehensive checklist that conforms to regulatory guidelines, allowing firms to automate much of the effort necessary to achieve technology compliance. Entreda is a software company founded in 2011 with offices in Santa Clara, California. For more information, visit https://www.entreda.com

Media Contacts:
Michael Dugan / Joseph KuoHaven Tower Group
424 652 6520 ext. 106 or ext. 101
mdugan@haventower.com or jkuo@haventower.com

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SOURCE ProEquities, Inc.