You didn’t go to Accountant Big School and sweat through a ton of CPA accreditation just to have client data swiped by some cybercrook majoring in identity theft. That’s why it’s prudent – yes, this is the first time we’ve used that word this millennium – to discover if your IT support for accountants is currently knitted up specially to protect accountant-type beings like yourself from meanie cybercriminals.
Accountants Are Prized by Cybercriminals
There’s a load of bad stuff happening to accountants because you’ve got what the bad guys want. Accountants are one of the tastiest categories for hackers because they love to nom nom nom on all that personally identifiable information you hold: social security numbers, bank account details, credit card info, logins to client, customer or supplier accounts, and the rest.
Also, we don’t wanna make you uncomfortable, but if you’re CPA, you have a fiduciary responsibility to protect that data. Oh, look, we did wanna make you feel uncomfortable. You need to remain credible to thrive and stay qualified. Once trust is gone, it’s gone, and it’s difficult to build back up again.
Maybe you manage your practice using cloud platforms like Sage, Freshbooks, or Quickbooks. These do have security built in, but keeping data safe is more than hoping an SaaS company will do it for you. You need a more comprehensive IT ecosystem.
Your task is to protect the data, stay compliant with your fiduciary obligations, and also keep your business productive and forward-looking. Whether you use in-house IT support or buy excellent, proactive, and reputable IT support from outside (ahem, us), these IT Support for Accountants Essentials should be on your list of things to look for:
Ransomware Protection
Ransomware is malicious software that’s especially evil. Crypto ransomware encrypts your files and demands $ or access privileges before it un-encrypts them. Locker ransomware locks you out of your network or system. Ransomware sneaks in through many front doors: through phishing emails, one of your staff clicking on a dodgy URL or malicious pop-up, a vulnerability in outdated OS, and more.
Decent IT support for accountants will close up those ransomware gaps with lovelies like:
- Phishing training for your staff.
- Updating OS, patching software, and optimizing antivirus software.
- Deploying DNS filtering.
- Deploying 3rd party email filters that quarantine phishing emails before your people click ‘em.
Backup Management
Automating your backups is Nature’s way of saying, “If something epic destroys your data, you’ve still got it somewhere.” Backing up is vital; automating your backup process means you won’t forget to actually do it and you’ll always have up-to-date data on hand for recovery. There are pros and cons to cloud or local backups, and much depends on how your business is organized, e.g., remote, hybrid, or office based, and how much data you need to keep or archive, etc. Decent IT support will help you make the decision that’s right for how you work.
All the Compliance
Accountants, through the mothership AICPA, invented SOC 2 but that doesn’t mean that compliance with regulatory frameworks is second nature to them. One of the biggest advantages to decent IT support is an uncanny ability to keep you compliant with whichever cybersecurity regulatory framework you’ve eloped with: SOC 2, SEC, PCI DSS, heck, even HIPAA if you’re adding up the numbers in the healthcare industry. You’re looking at services such as:
- Gap remediation. Once your framework auditor has had their wicked way with your IT infrastructure, they’ll hand you a massive to-do list that you’ll have to check off before they give you your Compliance Badge. Decent IT support will take that to-do list and remediate the hell out of those gaps.
- Keeping you compliant. You’ve got better things to do than monitor your IT infrastructure for compliance failures. But your IT support people don’t.
Accountants Need IT Support…We Can Help
Accountants have one heck of a serious responsibility towards the data they hold, and the impact of a data breach is worse reputationally than for other sectors. Grab a coffee and treat yourself to a no-obligation-and-perfectly-friendly chat with one of our IT people, who’ll load you up with some thoughts about how you can make your IT better with our IT support for accountants services.
Ignition is Silicon Valley’s best (and friendliest) IT security, compliance, and support team. Contact us now – chatting about IT support and cybersecurity is our favorite thing to do!