Blog – Top Cyber Threats for Accounting Firms

Biggest Cybersecurity Threats for Accounting Firms

Handling sensitive financial data makes you a target on the Internet, there’s no way around that. Bad actors are constantly looking to attack and exploit the vulnerabilities of anyone with digital financial records.

Accounting firms are constantly under attack due to this. Mid-level and small firms are especially at risk since many online attackers will pass over the larger companies with significant accounting IT services and cybersecurity resources. Smaller firms are a bigger target since they are perceived to be easier to breach and take data from.

If you want to protect your company, you have to be aware of the threats you’re acing and have the appropriate accounting IT services with a focus on security to protect yourself.

Phishing and Human Error

One of the most common attacks you are going to confront is the phishing attack. Since phishing attacks aren’t direct hacks but sophisticated attempts to grift users into giving over valuable information, this is an area where you have to make sure your staff knows what to look out for when working. If your accounting IT services offer any sort of training for your less technical staff on how to spot phishing attacks and avoid them at all cost, it’s worth it to take advantage.

Human error is one of the biggest reasons that data breaches occur, and phishing is probably the biggest reason why. All it takes is one error, so vigilance is key when avoiding these phishing attacks and protecting your data. Keep up to date on the latest changes in phishing tactics and talk to your accounting IT services partner about what you need to keep an eye out for as attacks evolve.

Increased Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware attacks have been on the rise every year, and these attacks can be especially brutal for small or medium-sized business. If a ransomware attacks gets hold of your network, it can effectively shut all your work down unless you pay up, and in many cases the hackers won’t even unlock your system once you pay. If you’re an accounting firm holding onto sensitive financial data for tons of clients, this can also lock them out of access to information they need.

Obviously, appropriate resources must be put into cybersecurity to prevent these attacks, but having business continuity planning, including data backup solutions, as part of your accounting IT services is also key if you want to avoid harming your customers and make sure they can always access what they need from you.

Insecure Mobile Devices

Another major cybersecurity risk for accounting firms is insecure mobile devices on their network. Even if your company-owned devices are all appropriately protected, if an employee brings an insecure device to work and uses it on your network, that leaves you vulnerable to hackers.

If your company has a Bring-Your-Own-Device policy, your accounting IT service provider must account for that from a network security perspective. Every unprotected device is a potential weak point that can be exploited by bad actors trying to breach your defenses.