Cyber

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, making it the perfect time for companies to focus on their readiness against a cyber-attack. Robust cybersecurity is increasingly important as cybercrime methods become more discreet, efficient, and powerful. This blog outlines the components of a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment that evaluates existing processes, identifies weaknesses, and helps keep organizations compliant […]

Like many industries, accounting firms and CPAs must contend with labor shortages, wringing more efficiency out of already overworked staff. Forbes estimates that more than 300,000 accountants and auditors resigned during the Great Resignation of 2020 and 2021. The same article notes that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there have been nearly 16% […]

The United States government recently expanded its ban on Kaspersky cybersecurity products, citing the company’s Russian connections as representing an “undue or unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the safety and security.” The ban, effective from September 29 for existing customers and July 20 for new sales, aims to eliminate the use of the […]

The US experienced more data breaches in 2023 than in 2022 before the year even came to a close. USA Today predicts that this number will continue to climb and that by 2031 “attacks on businesses, consumers, governments and devices will happen every two seconds.” This significant increase indicates that cybercriminals are using every tool […]

It’s become all too regular an occurrence for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to warn taxpayers of a new scam. Thousands of taxpaying citizens have lost millions of dollars through scams, with new schemes appearing as quickly as people can be made aware of them. The solution? Taxpayers have to be aware of how the […]

What is a data breach? Data breaches are unauthorized access to and theft of sensitive data by cybercriminals. Bad actors may gain entry to an organization’s store of customer data through various techniques, including brute force attacks, phishing, or social engineering schemes. Ransomware attacks may encrypt sensitive data and only unlock access to vital systems […]

Increasingly, governments and regulatory bodies, including the IRS, FTC, and SEC are requiring formalized security plans. In the U.S., some states require financial institutions, such as CPAs, accounting firms, mortgage brokers, universities, and nonbank lenders, to establish a Written Information Security Plan (WISP). This formal plan outlines the roles of staff in data security protections, […]

Earlier this year, the SEC announced new cybersecurity guidelines and finalized those rules in August after the standard public review period. These rules affect how public companies must report major cyber breaches and when. Additionally, the rules detail how board directors should prepare and manage ongoing security issues. The new rules take effect on December […]

Customer data security is of increasing importance to companies aiming to operate on a global scale. From ChatGPT to the U.S. House of Representatives, data breaches are on the rise and cost businesses an average of almost $10 million per breach. Major brands are frequently in the news, suffering massive costs. In 2022 alone, T-Mobile’s […]

The worldwide average cost of a data breach is $4.35 million, according to a report by IBM. Companies are doing business in a global industry with operations spread out to maximize profit. With wider operations comes an increased risk of cyber-attacks—but while companies will look to shore up their own cyber defenses, research shows they […]