By Warren Finkel, IT strategy expert for financial services and wealth management customers
Cybersecurity used to be an IT problem. Today, for family offices, it’s a governance issue – with stakes beyond financial loss. The real danger is the erosion of trust – trust between principals and staff, between family members, and between families and their wider networks of advisors, institutions, and communities.
Wealth can be rebuilt. Trust, once broken, is far harder to restore. That is why family office cybersecurity is not just wealth protection – it is trust protection.
Family offices hold a unique combination of wealth, privacy, and sensitive data. They often run lean operationally and are not bound by the same regulatory cybersecurity requirements as banks or RIAs.
The attack surface also extends far beyond the office. Smart homes, personal vehicles, family travel, children’s social media activity, and household staff all represent potential entry points. A breach in any one of these areas can be leveraged to compromise the entire office environment.
The FBI has specifically warned that criminals exploit online gaming platforms and children’s connected devices as entry points into families’ digital lives, taking advantage of the blurred line between personal and professional networks.
Put simply: family offices are attractive because they are wealthy, discreet, and often underprotected.
Perhaps the most alarming development in cybersecurity is the rise of AI-powered deception. With only minutes of audio, attackers can generate deepfake voices identical to a family member. With enough emails, they can mimic tone, vocabulary, and even quirks of style.
Imagine approving a wire after what sounded like your executive’s voice – only to discover it was AI. Or an advisor responding to an urgent video from a “client” that turned out to be synthetic.
This is the trust crisis: when “seeing” and “hearing” are no longer proof of authenticity. Cybersecurity in this context isn’t about firewalls – it’s about identity verification, layered approvals, and a security-first culture.
Not every attack is about stealing money – cyber incidents are increasingly used as leverage.
Wealthy families with global footprints may be targeted for political or ideological reasons. Breaches can be timed to embarrass during negotiations or to apply pressure around sensitive issues. Opportunistic phishing often exploits headlines about tariffs, sanctions, or market volatility.
For example, during recent tariff disputes, phishing campaigns circulated promising to “bypass new trade rules” in exchange for payments. Criminals know that family offices with international exposure are especially vulnerable to such lures.
For family offices, cybersecurity is not just a defensive shield – it’s part of reputation management and geopolitical risk strategy.
The mindset must shift: cybersecurity is not an IT checklist – it is family governance, and it requires:
In practice, that might mean requiring a phone confirmation from two separate staff members before a wire transfer is approved, or rehearsing simulated attacks so employees know how to respond. These small cultural adjustments can prevent multi-million-dollar losses.
Over the next three years, several trends are likely to intensify:
The offices that thrive will be those that treat cybersecurity as a strategic enabler of trust – not a reluctant expense.
Family offices were built to preserve wealth across generations. Today, their bigger challenge is preserving credibility and trust.
Hackers exploit weak points wherever they find them – outdated systems, unsecured networks, or even human relationships. With AI deception rising and geopolitical volatility growing, the pressure will only intensify.
That’s why forward-looking family offices are reframing cybersecurity. It’s no longer just about protecting wealth – it’s about ensuring families, advisors, and partners can continue to trust one another in a digital world where even reality can be faked.
For family offices, that is the ultimate asset to safeguard. If you’re ready to protect not just your wealth but the trust your family office depends on, Omega Systems can help.
ABOUT THE AUTHORWarren Finkel, Managing Director of Omega’s Northeast region, brings decades of experience in IT strategy and tailored solutions for customers in family offices, RIAs, hedge funds, and other financial services sectors. Read Warren Finkel’s full executive profile here.
Connect with Warren on LinkedIn.