Cyber Insurance IT Requirements Toronto — Financial Services Case Study
How Group 4 Networks helped a GTA wealth management firm qualify for cyber insurance after a denied renewal — deploying EDR, MFA, and documented security controls in 6 weeks.
Drafted an incident response plan specific to the firm's regulatory obligations as an OSC-registered investment advisor. Built an acceptable use policy and had all 24 staff sign the acceptable use agreement. Enrolled all staff in SecureAware phishing simulation — baseline click rate was 38%. Compiled the full security controls documentation package for the insurer.
Installed The Cyber Arm EDR on all 24 endpoints — laptops, desktops, and the two on-site servers. Configured 24/7 threat monitoring with alerting to the G4NS Security Operations team. Removed the three shared service accounts and replaced with properly credentialed service identities. Enabled Microsoft Defender for Business across the 365 tenant.
Full audit of all 24 user accounts, devices, and Microsoft 365 configuration. Identified 6 users with no MFA, 3 shared service accounts, and 11 devices with no endpoint protection. Deployed Microsoft 365 MFA across all accounts and enforced conditional access immediately — eliminating the highest-risk gaps first.
Cyber insurers are tightening requirements every renewal cycle. MFA, EDR, documented incident response, and staff training are no longer optional riders — they're baseline requirements for coverage. Firms that can't demonstrate these controls are being declined or facing dramatic premium increases.
G4NS works with Toronto financial advisors, accounting firms, and wealth management practices to build the security stack that insurers require — and maintain the documentation that proves it at renewal. Our downtown King Street office serves the financial district directly.
A 24-person wealth management firm managing $380M AUM had their cyber insurance renewal declined — the insurer required EDR, MFA, and documented controls that the firm didn't have. G4NS deployed the full security stack and documentation package within the 60-day deadline.
The firm had Microsoft 365, decent antivirus, and the assumption that nothing bad would happen to them because they were small. Their OSC-registered status meant they also had regulatory obligations around client data security that they weren't fully meeting. They had
In March 2024, this GTA wealth management firm received a renewal questionnaire from their cyber insurance provider. They'd held the policy for three years without ever filing a claim. They expected a routine renewal. Instead, their broker called with bad news: