For registered investment advisers
The SEC Cybersecurity Rule changed everything. Your IT shop has not caught up. We have.
Z1 Networks delivers exam-ready cybersecurity for registered investment advisers on the 680 corridor — written policies, incident response procedures, Rule 17a-4 archive validation, and 24/7 managed detection — with the documentation an SEC examiner expects, organized the way they expect to receive it.
Request My Gap Analysis“The rule requires a program, and we have a vendor”
The SEC Cybersecurity Rule requires written policies, risk assessments, incident reporting, and board-level oversight. A generalist IT person — however good — does not think like a CCO, and an examiner can tell the difference in the first document request.
“Our archive may not actually be compliant”
FINRA 3110 supervision, Rule 17a-4 WORM archiving, and BCP testing are checked at every exam. Many firms discover their 'compliant' archive is misconfigured only when an examiner asks for the designated-third-party letter. Better to find out from us.
“A breach during an examination is career-ending”
Deficiency letters take months to clear and damage AUM trust with every client conversation in between. The cost of running a documented program is small against one bad exam cycle.
What a CCO gets from Z1
Exam-ready documentation
Written cybersecurity policies, incident response procedures, and risk assessments — maintained continuously and organized the way an examiner expects to receive them.
Archive validation, in writing
Your books-and-records archive reviewed against Rule 17a-4 and FINRA 3110/4370 — WORM configuration, retention, and the designated-third-party requirement — with findings documented.
vCISO and board reporting
A named security officer who owns the technical program, briefs your principals, and sits across from the examiner with you.
24/7 managed detection
Around-the-clock monitoring of accounts, devices, and email — so the incident-reporting procedures in your policies describe something real.
We work alongside your compliance consultant and outside counsel, not in place of them. They own the regulatory program; Z1 is the technical layer that makes the program’s claims true — and the evidence stream that lets them prove it.
For the compliance file: what's underneath
- SEC Cybersecurity Rule (2023):
- Written policies and procedures, periodic risk assessments, incident response with regulatory reporting readiness, and oversight reporting for principals.
- Rule 17a-4 / FINRA 3110 & 4370:
- WORM archive configuration and retention validated; supervision controls and BCP testing evidence maintained between exams.
- Reg S-P:
- Safeguards and customer-notification readiness aligned to the amended incident-response requirements; NPI covered by DLP policies and encryption.
- Evidence cadence:
- Quarterly evidence collection mapped to exam document-request lists — the exam-readiness package stays current instead of being assembled under deadline.
Local to the Tri-Valley
We serve advisory firms along the 680 corridor — Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, and Walnut Creek — close enough to be in your office the same day an examiner letter arrives.
Pleasanton · Dublin · Livermore · San Ramon · Danville
Common questions
What does the SEC expect from a firm our size?
The same things it expects from larger advisers, scaled to your risk: written cybersecurity policies and procedures, periodic risk assessments, incident response with reporting readiness, and evidence that principals oversee the program. Examiners request the documents regardless of AUM — firm size changes the depth of the program, not whether one exists.
Our archive vendor says we're Rule 17a-4 compliant. How would we know?
By validating it: WORM configuration actually enabled for the right record classes, retention periods set correctly, capture covering every channel you supervise, and the designated-third-party arrangement in place. We review the configuration against the rule text and give you the findings in writing — either confidence or a fix list, both worth having before an exam.
An exam letter just arrived. Can you help before the response deadline?
Yes — exam-readiness work is a defined engagement: we gather and organize the cybersecurity documentation the request list asks for, close the gaps that can be closed in the window, and document honestly what's in progress. The earlier you call the more we can fix rather than explain, but a deadline is workable.
We already have a compliance consultant. Where does Z1 fit?
Alongside them, not in place of them. Your consultant owns the regulatory program — filings, testing, the compliance calendar. Z1 is the technical layer that makes the program's claims true: the controls, the monitoring, the archive configuration, and the evidence stream your consultant cites. Most consultants prefer working with us to auditing a generalist IT vendor.
Which areas do you serve?
Advisory firms along the 680 corridor — Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, and Walnut Creek — with on-site support the same day when it matters. Firms outside the corridor arriving by referral can be served remotely on our Complete tier.
Know what an examiner would find — before one looks
We'll review your written policies and archive configuration against the rule text, then present the findings to you in writing.
Request My Gap Analysis30-minute findings presentation. No obligation.