It’s estimated that 43 per cent of family offices globally have suffered a cyber attack in the past two years, but Ocorian’s study among family members and senior family office employees handling total wealth of $119.37 billion shows that almost a fifth don’t have any defense plans in place to protect themselves from a potential attack. However, 18 per cent of them said that they do plan to put one in place, the survey shows.

This compares with three quarters of respondents who have taken steps to strengthen their defenses against a potential cyber attack in the past two years. Just 7 per cent said they had plans in place more than two years ago, the survey reveals.

In February, Ocorian commissioned independent research company PureProfile to carry out the survey and interview 200 people in the family office sector including family members and full-time employees of family offices. The total value of wealth managed or owned by the families was $119.37 billion and respondents were based in the UK, Switzerland, Mauritius, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the US, Jersey, Guernsey, Bermuda and Cayman.

Should they suffer a cyber attack more than a fifth of those surveyed said they didn't currently have an incident plan in place to respond and recover. Around 78 per cent said they do have an incident plan ready.

More than one in 10 family offices surveyed admitted that they feel significantly challenged when it comes to delivering the level and quality of cyber security expertise they need to operate effectively. Almost half said they receive advice and support from third-party professionals for cyber security, but this is set to significantly increase, with 72 per cent saying they see the levels of outsourcing cyber security to increase over the next three years. Of these, 41 per cent said they expect a dramatic increase.

“A cybersecurity attack is becoming an increasing reality and can have huge implications for family offices, damaging reputations, triggering loss of stakeholder confidence and putting long-term relationships at risk,” Ian Rumens, head of Private    Jersey, at Ocorian said:  “While many are taking steps to put the necessary precautions and defenses in place, such as getting expert third-party advice, there are still too many who are highly susceptible. The financial impact can also be significant, from direct theft and fraud to business interruption, incident response costs, regulatory fines and potential litigation.”

Family Wealth Report Family Office Cybersecurity Forum 2026
The research comes ahead of the Family Office Cybersecurity Forum at BNY in New York on Thursday June 11, hosted by Family Wealth Report. The forum is a specialized event designed to protect multi-generational wealth in a high-threat digital landscape. There will be high-level discussions on the evolving threats targeting private wealth. This isn’t just about IT; it’s about holistic wealth preservation. See the agenda here and speaker line-up here. The registration link can be accessed here.