Guidance
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Arbitration and Mediation
The Neutral Corner – Volume 4—2023
December 29, 2023
FAQ
Q1. Who can offer or sell securities under Regulation Crowdfunding? A1. Regulation Crowdfunding allows eligible issuers1 to offer and sell securities through the platform of a broker-dealer or funding portal that is both registered with the SEC and a FINRA member (an “intermediary”). This activity must be conducted exclusively through the platform of a single intermediary. A firm cannot act as an intermediary if it is not a registered broker-dealer or a registered funding portal, and is not a member of FINRA.
December 20, 2023
Guidance
With the holiday season upon us and 2023 coming to an end, FINRA’s Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) would like to remind member firms to prepare for cyber threats and attacks that may occur around the holidays. Member firms and their vendors should consider reviewing and validating their Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs), continuing to educate their employees with respect to cybersecurity and effective practices, and testing incident response plans (IRPs) to prepare for, prevent, or recover from an incident.
December 12, 2023
Guidance
FINRA’s Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) is highlighting an Okta data breach spanning from September 28 to October 17, 2023 that impacts Okta customer support system users. Okta reported that threat actors downloaded names and email addresses, along with other relevant metadata, of their customer support system users. The information could be leveraged in phishing or other social engineering attacks and potentially lead to the targeting of firm personnel in an Okta administrator or customer support role.
December 11, 2023
Guidance
The prevalence of cybersecurity incidents continues to increase at FINRA member firms. As a result of the continued proliferation of cybercrime, the Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) within FINRA’s Member Supervision program is issuing this advisory to highlight effective practices and considerations for member firms when responding to cyber incidents, including the benefits of voluntarily reporting information related to the incident to various entities.
November 30, 2023
Media Center
Succession planning is important not just for customers and representatives but can even be a matter of life or death when it comes to the continued existence of a firm. On this episode, we hear how and why firms should plan for the expected and unexpected in life.
November 28, 2023
Guidance
Due to increased reports related to cyber incidents occurring at FINRA member firms which have been attributed to specific threat actors, the Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) within FINRA’s Member Supervision Program is highlighting a recent joint Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cybersecurity Advisory published on November 16, 2023, which may be updated as new intelligence is uncovered.
November 17, 2023
Media Center
The small firm community, those firms with 150 or fewer registered financial professionals came together in October to discuss and engage on key areas of concern at the Small Firm Conference. On this episode, we go behind the scenes of this year's event to share with you the fireside chat between FINRA CEO Robert Cook and FINRA's Head of Member Relations, Kayte Toczylowski.
November 16, 2023
Guidance
FINRA is highlighting recently reported vulnerabilities that impact Citrix NetScaler services including NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway. Threat actors can exploit these vulnerabilities to exfiltrate sensitive information and to infect data and systems with ransomware. These Citrix services are typically used in support of internet-based application systems, to balance and manage incoming requests, and to enhance security and resiliency.
November 10, 2023
Media Center
In a recent nationally representative survey, more than 1,000 adults shared what worries them most in their lives. On this episode, we sit down with the head of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to discuss the recent survey and its findings, while also providing tips and resources to help make money a little less spooky.
October 31, 2023
Report / Study
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Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics that deals with the complex properties of atoms and sub-atomic particles.2 Quantum computing leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems too large or complex for traditional computers.
October 30, 2023
Media Center
The 2023 FINRA Foundation Ketchum Prize recipient has dedicated his life to understanding what makes someone susceptible to fraud—and pioneering ways to fight it. On this episode, we hear from Dr. Doug Shadel to hear about his research and years of working as one of America's most active fraud fighters.
October 17, 2023
Guidance
This notification is to warn member firms of an ongoing phishing campaign that involves fraudulent emails purporting to be from FINRA and using the domain name “@rfs-finra.org”.
October 13, 2023
FAQ
The following questions and answers provide guidance regarding the operation of FINRA Rule 2080, which was formerly NASD Rule 2130.
October 12, 2023
FAQ
Effective October 16, 2023, FINRA revised Rules 12800 and 12805 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes (Customer Code) and Rule 13805 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes (Industry Code) relating to the expungement of customer dispute information from the Central Registration Depository (CRD®). These frequently asked questions provide guidance regarding these rules.
October 12, 2023
Media Center
FINRA oversees a diverse set of broker-dealer firms that make up a vibrant securities industry. Every registered firm at one time or another must engage with FINRA's Membership Application Program, or MAP. In this episode, we learn more about MAP and some of the recent and ongoing enhancements to the program.
October 03, 2023
Guidance
FINRA poses several questions for firms to consider as they evaluate whether their supervisory systems are reasonably designed to address risks of their SPAC-related activities. These questions are based on FINRA’s observations to this point in our review. In addition, the Appendix notes additional guidance FINRA has provided regarding member firms’ relevant obligations.
October 02, 2023
Arbitration and Mediation
The Neutral Corner - Volume 3—2023
September 29, 2023
Guidance
The Cyber and Analytics Unit (CAU) within FINRA’s Member Supervision program is highlighting the new SEC rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure that were adopted on July 26, 2023. The SEC adopted final rules requiring disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents on Form 8-K and periodic disclosure of a registrant’s cybersecurity risk management, strategy and governance in annual reports.
September 21, 2023
Media Center
In this third and final episode in our series covering FINRA's ongoing crypto asset regulatory work, we hear from FINRA's Blockchain Lab, which serves as a central point within FINRA for the development of blockchain-related regulatory initiatives to learn about how the Lab is supporting and advancing FINRA's regulatory work involving crypto assets.
September 19, 2023
Media Center
In this second episode of a three-part series covering FINRA's crypto asset-related regulatory work, we hear from FINRA's Crypto Asset Investigations Team. This dedicated group of investigators specialize in conducting complex crypto asset investigations and share more about the crucial role it plays in ensuring compliance with existing rules and regulations in the crypto asset space.
September 05, 2023
Guidance
FINRA is highlighting a recent joint Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cybersecurity Advisory published on August 30, 2023, which may be updated as new intelligence is uncovered.
August 31, 2023
Guidance
FINRA is highlighting a recent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Flash published on August 23, 2023. According to the FBI Flash, all exploited Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances, even those with up-to-date security patches, remain at risk for continued computer network compromise from threat actors exploiting a zero-day vulnerability documented in CVE-2023-2868.
August 28, 2023
Guidance
Summary
FINRA has adopted amendments to its Codes of Arbitration Procedure (Codes) to modify the process relating to requests to expunge customer dispute information in the FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (DRS) arbitration forum.
August 11, 2023