Data security in today's connected world is an extremely important issue, especially for protecting an accounting firm from cyberattacks. If you, as a manager or owner, neglect this action and do not worry about this security, you may face significant financial losses, and in some cases, even bankruptcy.
However, ensuring protection is not so simple. It is necessary to understand the concept and functioning of data security, grasp the importance of the subject, and the specific strategies for each case.
In this article, we delve deeper into the subject and provide excellent solutions to ensure data security in your accounting office.
What is data security and how does it work?
Basically, data security consists of the set of actions and strategies developed to protect the information of a person or entity in a virtual environment, both from internal threats (such as unauthorized access by employees) and external threats (data theft by hackers).
Therefore, it is important that these measures be implemented across all of the office's digital data, information exchange, financial transactions, and other online activities.
Impacts of lack of data security
To clearly understand the true importance of data security, the first step is to know the impact that its absence can cause. Therefore, we have listed some threats (among many other forms of attack) that your business may suffer:
- Malware infection: installation of a program that has been rewritten with malicious code;
- Exploitation of vulnerabilities: hackers look for flaws in the company's security to steal data;
- Phishing: an attempt to obtain individuals' personal data through fake emails, messages, or SMS (we discuss this type of attack in more detail in an article on our blog);
- Downtime: the goal of the attack is to cause instability or system outages, which also harms the company's business and image.
Thinking this way, if your office is vulnerable and suffers these attacks, the losses are quite high or difficult to repair, such as:
- Damage to the company's image in the market, causing a lack of trust among customers, partners, and suppliers;
- Decrease in company revenue;
- Compromised company and customer information;
- Permanent loss of corporate data.
How to ensure data security in your accounting office.
As we mentioned earlier, protecting the organization's and clients' information, data, and files is fundamental to ensuring the health of your company.
When we talk about accounting firms, this becomes even more relevant, knowing that their systems store confidential data from other companies.
To help you with this process, we have listed some effective strategies for ensuring data security in the topics below.
Prepare the team
The vast majority of employees in accounting firms do not understand the importance of data security, or in many cases, they don't care about it. They open fake emails, click on malicious links, or fall into traps due to a lack of knowledge on the subject.
It's very important that you invest in methods and training so that your team knows how to maximize data security. Tip: we've created a manual for safe internet use for professionals and companies ; you can download and use it in your office. In addition, there's another article about what to block and what to allow in internet access at work , which can also help with this.
Updated equipment and software
Keeping software licenses and updates up-to-date is important because it prevents data loss or vulnerability to intrusions, since newer versions of programs have better protection systems and are updated as new forms of attack emerge.
In addition to software, having quality equipment and computers with up-to-date operating systems is extremely important. Very old or outdated systems and computers have significant security vulnerabilities and are easy targets for hackers.
Cloud storage
One of the most widely used technologies for protecting business data is cloud data storage. This process involves using other companies' systems and computers to process and store information. With this technology, data security is delegated to another organization, and backups (security copies of files) are made easier.
Remember that it is very important to hire an excellent, competent company that specializes in the subject, as it will play a crucial role in the data security of your office.
Internet Security and Access Control System
There are specialized data protection services for businesses, protecting the company's system against information leaks, malware contamination, and many other attacks.
In addition to security systems, many of these tools offer the possibility of controlling internet access for employees in companies. This solution prevents access to harmful websites, eliminating many problems related to viruses, malicious software downloads, and security vulnerabilities. Internet access control also effectively impacts team productivity and focus; after all, blocking sites like social networks, YouTube, and shopping websites makes employee work more effective.
Lumiun is a service that manages and controls internet access in companies, increasing data security and improving team productivity. To learn more, you can download the Lumiun presentation from our website.
How an accounting firm solved internet security and productivity issues.
Most managers and owners of accounting firms are concerned and curious about how to implement and effectively use an internet security and access control system.
If you are one of them, we have great news!
We created a success story from an accounting firm, addressing all possible questions regarding the use of the tool. You can download the material at this link here .
In the material you will find:
- Problems before using Lumiun;
- Competitor research;
- The reason for the decision;
- Before and after Lumiun;
- Summary of Lumiun's daily use;
- History of the Accounting Firm.
Conclusion
If you already adopt some of these data security measures in your accounting office, our sincerest congratulations. But as we know, this scenario is not so common. Most business owners and directors are unaware of these factors, or do not have access to tools and solutions, or are afraid that the tool will be difficult to apply and use. But as we have seen above, not everything is so complex; there are many quick and relatively easy ways to have good data security in your company.
We hope this article has helped you understand the importance of data security in accounting firms, and what tools and actions can be taken without major problems or difficulties.
Until next time!
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