Unit Trust of Samoa

The Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS) is an initiative of the Government of Samoa whose goal is to provide an investment vehicle for local and overseas-based Samoans and Samoan businesses.

The trust is an opportunity for small investors to access a range of investment options while spreading risk and leaving the management of their savings in the hands of experts.

The challenge

Samoans are quickly embracing the advantages of the Internet for their economy and quality of life. However, while they enjoy its benefits, they also recognize that it can introduce significant cybersecurity risk.

This led the Samoan government to develop the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2016-2021 to develop Samoa’s cybersecurity. The strategy aimed to help organizations become responsive to cybersecurity issues and to establish a working relationship with government, trade associations, and other business partners to tackle cyber threats.

As Samoa’s leading fund manager, UTOS wanted to ensure they had adequate cyber hygiene practices to keep their investors personally identifiable information safe and secure. This includes information assets managed by related or third-parties.

The solution

UTOS uses the UpGuard platform to:

• Continuously monitor third-parties service providers and vendors: UpGuard Vendor Risk provides UTOS with up-to-date third and fourth-party security ratings and monitoring capabilities.
• Increase rigor in vendor procurement and assessment: Beyond security ratings, UpGuard Vendor Risk’s security questionnaire library provides UTOS with the tools they need to assess not only the external security posture of current and potential vendors but also internal security controls by using security questionnaires.
• An understanding of their own external security posture: UpGuard BreachSight provides continuous monitoring and first-party security ratings for UTOS, giving them a clear understanding of their own external security posture.