Harris Beach Murtha partner Alan M. Winchester, who leads the firm’s Cybersecurity Protection and Response Practice Group, provided perspective about wire fraud prevention and cyber breach preparedness in two recent articles that ran in the Long Island Business News.

In the first article, Alan provided insight for businesses and steps to take to protect funds if an organization were to fall victim to wire-transfer fraud.

“Protection starts with prevention,” Alan said. “Educate employees about the different types of wire-transfer fraud and require them to verify critical information through a different communication channel, as well as a phone number or email account you know is correct, before sending money or changing any established wiring instructions. It is extremely important to have a response plan in place to act quickly.”

The second article, “Cybersecurity breaches: Are you prepared to respond?” published in Long Island Business News’ October 10, 2025 print edition. Alan emphasized the importance of creating an incident response plan and team to lead the response and communicate to key stakeholders, and critical actions to take. “Even the most prepared can be targeted and breached. If that happens, swift and structured action is critical,” Alan said. “The first 24 hours are the most important 24 hours.”

Read the full article on wire fraud prevention and the full article about preparing for cybersecurity breaches. (Subscription may be required.)