Why Security Must Be an Integral Part of Your Business Accounting

For every accounting firm, individual accountants, and CPAs, their client data is of utmost importance, and hence keeping it safe is their top priority.  In today’s digital world, almost all accounting firms – large or small, have started to take up electronic ways of managing data. And even though it makes work faster and easier, it also increases the risk of data loss.

With the increasing value of confidential data, security breaches such as ransomware attacks, malware attacks, password attacks, and other forms of cyberattacks have been increasing over the past few years. According to a study, a ransomware attack happens every 14 seconds. Another research by Small Business Trends reveals that 43% of all cyberattacks happen to small businesses.

Such security breaches not only put your important client data at risk but also cause a huge monetary loss, and you also might end up losing your clients. A study suggests that the cost of cybersecurity will rise to $6 trillion per year by 2021, all around the globe.

Thus, we see why security is so important and must be an integral part of your accounting business. Investing in the security of your confidential data is a must these days.

Here are a few basic security tips that you and your firm can take up to ensure the safety of your confidential information.

 1. Install Antivirus Software 

Antivirus software helps detect any malicious activity on your system and takes immediate measures to stop it from affecting your important files and data on your system. 

Hence, it is important to purchase reliable antivirus software and also keep it updated to the latest version for it to work efficiently in order to keep your device safe. 

2. Create Strong Passwords

Passwords are the easiest ways of keeping your files and documents safe. You must always ensure that all your software and applications are protected by a complex password consisting of alphabets (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols.

Also, all your applications must have different passwords, which you must change from time to time to avoid any external invasion. 

3. Examine Software Before Installing

The easiest way for any virus to attack your system is through installations and downloads. As a result, you must ensure that you download everything from a reliable source. You must also run a quick antivirus check to avoid any kind of virus from entering your system. 

4. Keep System Up to Date

It becomes very easy for viruses or any other external threat to attack your system if it is outdated. The easiest way to avoid this is to always keep your system and all your software and applications updated. 

New updates come with new and better security patches to keep your system safe and secure. 

5. Take Regular Backups

Even after taking all security measures, a security breach could still happen. One way to be safe is to take regular backups of all your important files, data, and applications. These backups can be taken on any external hardware, or on the cloud.

This ensures that even if there is an attack on your system, you are still able to retrieve your files and data. As a result, you do not lose anything important that might impact your business. 

6. Take Care of Spam Emails

Statistics show that 91% of attacks happen through spam emails. To avoid any such attacks, you must be careful while opening an email and downloading any suspicious attachments from any unreliable source. 

Taking up email security services also help in detecting spam emails to prevent you from opening it. 

7. Move To The Cloud

Migrating to the cloud is one of the best measures to keep your confidential files secure. Reliable cloud hosting providers with Tier-3 or Tier-4 data centers offer the best security features at various levels – physical, administrative, and network. They also offer automatic backups of all your files with easy recovery in case of any loss.

Thus, you must choose a very reliable cloud hosting provider after carefully reviewing the security and other features that they offer. 

Wrapping Up

Security is an integral part of business accounting, so instead of focusing only on expanding your business, you must also invest in security and come up with an extensive security protocol for your business. Taking up all these simple security measures will help keep your personal as well as your clients’ data safe and secure.