John O’Connell Published in ThinkAdvisor: Salesforce Breach Exposes Risk for Wealth Firms; Here Are 6 Steps to Take Now

John O’Connell authored this article in ThinkAdvisor, where he delivers a critical message for the wealth management community: the recent Salesforce data breach, affecting up to one billion records, exposes the growing fragility of data security across the financial services ecosystem. Although Salesforce’s core platform remained intact, attackers broke in through compromised third-party integrations — revealing that integration risk, not infrastructure, is now the front line of defense.

For wealth management firms, this incident underscores how easily client data — including personal information, holdings, and sensitive documents — can be exposed through interconnected tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or AI-driven assistants. He emphasizes that CRM data protection is not optional; it must be embedded into every firm’s operational and fiduciary duty.

He outlines six practical steps to strengthen cyber resilience:

• Audit and contain connected apps and integrations to close unnecessary access points.
• Rotate and restrict API keys, tokens, and admin privileges.
• Reinforce identity using phishing-resistant multifactor authentication.
• Run human-factor drills to strengthen staff awareness against social engineering.
• Govern vendors through rigorous third-party risk assessments and clear breach-reporting clauses.
• Tabletop and test response plans quarterly to ensure readiness.

He concludes that, concludes, trust without verification is no longer viable. Protecting data is the modern expression of fiduciary duty — and the foundation of client confidence in today’s digital wealth management landscape.