Cybersecurity for CPAs, Law Firms, Manufacturing and Virtually All Business Types

<p>In 2012, a New Jersey man hacked into several accounting firms stealing the tax forms and personal information of over a thousand clients. He used this information to file more than $6 million in fake tax returns. He also sold the pilfered data to other hackers on the dark web. This incident is not unique. Incidents of hacking and cyber-breaches are on the rise across all industries and for companies of all sizes.</p><h2>Unique Factors Affecting Accounting Firms</h2><p>Besides the standard risks inherent to all industries with internet-facing systems, accounting firms face additional threats due to the volume and types of data that they typically house. Hackers are heavily targeting tax information so that they can file fraudulent tax returns. In 2013, the IRS paid $5.8 billion out in fraudulent tax returns.</p><p>Hackers have learned that breaching an accounting firm can have a similar payoff to breaching scores of companies and individuals, since you not only get the firm's data, but usually troves of data on their clients. This includes banking credentials, personally identifiable information, employee records, business plans, intellectual property, and access credentials for client networks.</p><h2>What Can Be Done?</h2><ol><li>Have an Information Security Committee that meets regularly and includes key personnel from relevant departments</li><li>Have a written Information Security Program, with documented policies and procedures, as well as risk analyses and contingency plans</li><li>Have a Penetration Test performed annually by an independent security firm</li><li>Train all staff on Cyber-Security Awareness</li><li>Use strong and unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication whenever possible</li><li>Encrypt data when transmitted and when stored, especially data that resides on mobile devices</li><li>Allocate the proper funds for cyber-security</li></ol><h2>Our Cybersecurity Partners</h2><p>Our cybersecurity providers — including AT&amp;T, Verizon, and grid32 — have performed proactive security assessments and penetration tests for many forward-thinking accounting and law firms. With over 30 years of telecom and IT experience, we have several vendors that can help with solutions to cybersecurity. Call Applied Utility Auditors at (888) 208-0020.</p>