IT Consulting in the Bay Area: How to Prevent Data Breaches in your Accounting Firm

IT Consulting in the Bay Area: How to Prevent Data Breaches in your Accounting Firm

Deploying and implementing accounting processes on the cloud can be significantly empowering and transforming to CPA firms. There are vast opportunities for cost savings, scalability, and leveraging advanced accounting automation applications on the cloud. Nonetheless, cloud and big data capabilities are fraught with a myriad of security challenges. The right IT consulting partner in the Bay Area should help you stay on top of your security and efficiency requirements.

Adopt a Risk-Aware Mindset

Money is the motivation for most cyber threat actors. As an accountant, your business profile looks attractive in the eyes of malicious and expertly skilled cybercriminals. They will be looking to explore loopholes in the way you handle your accounting processes, transactions, and data storage. Creating a culture of awareness among all accountants can help to minimize the risk of data breaches.Factors that put CPAs at risk of data breaches include:

  • Saving passwords on browsers
  • Using password synchronization features on devices
  • Accessing work portals on insecure connections
  • Working with unverified cloud vendors
  • Failure to track who has access to what accounts

Expand Your IT Team or Outsource

A review of past data breaches shows that even small firms are not immune. It doesn’t matter the size of your CPA firm. You need to have robust cybersecurity systems in place. You must have 24-hour monitoring of your networks, regular vulnerability scanning, patch management, and other control measures for a robust cybersecurity posture.You can get managed IT consulting services in the Bay Area designed to fit your budget. The IT professionals will help you prioritize what needs the most focus in your cloud architecture and IT environment. The outsourced experts can complement what your lean internal team does, or take over everything at a manageable cost.

Comply with the Financial Industry’s Regulation

From where you sit, industry regulations on data security may seem like a pain in the back. In truth, though, these regulations provide a roadmap for improving the security of your systems.Compliance automatically means that you attain a resilient cybersecurity posture. It also means that your CPA firm will not be held liable in the event of a data breach.You can get extra hands on deck for accelerating your compliance with the industry’s cybersecurity regulations. An outsourced IT services team in the Bay Area will help with:

  • Data encryption
  • Data backups
  • Vulnerability scanning
  • Malware and anti-virus installation and maintenance
  • System monitoring and reporting
  • Employee training on security risk awareness

Make Your Systems More Efficient

Attaining a secure cybersecurity posture should go hand in hand with increasing efficiency and productivity. Your small in-house IT team may perform well when it comes to securing your infrastructure, but what about productivity?For that to happen, there needs to be a cohesive integration of your IT and business strategies. Your infrastructure needs to be customized to meet your specific business needs. An outsourced IT team can help with policy consultation, strategy development, and technology modernization to optimize your processes and reduce glitches and the risk of breaches.At Riverfy, we provide consummate IT consulting services in the Bay Area. Let’s discuss IT support and security for your accounting firm. Contact us now!