Accountants often ask me what the most current cybersecurity threats are that might disrupt their practice. While these are generally of an IT nature, which this article will outline, my initial response startles most accountants: Focus on your staff as your first line of defense.
Surprisingly, accounting practices, regardless of size, seldom have a meeting to discuss in-house rules for protecting their data. The threat comes from social engineering, a fancy term IT people use, which is nothing more than tricking recipients through impersonation. Hackers pretend to be someone else to fool targets into acting in the attacker's favor, usually by sending money. The best defense is education and training. Have your in-house IT security expert (or outside consultant) go over a detailed approach about what rules to follow to ensure that staff doesn't fall prey to creative scammers. Ensure that new employees also receive training when they join the firm.
Other security threats include the following:
It might be a cliché but invest in prevention now or pay much more in the future after a cyber attack.
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