Just about every business owner worries about cybersecurity—and for good reason. Protecting your business isn’t getting any easier. In fact, it’s becoming more difficult, even—or maybe especially—for smaller businesses. You need all the help you can get with cybersecurity resources.
Fortunately, help is here. The articles linked below take you on a journey to online safety—from identifying threats to developing a security strategy and putting best practices into place. This isn’t a completely comprehensive guide, of course, but each link offers advice and perspective on cybersecurity that should prove helpful.
Cybersecurity Resources, Part 1: Stories of cybersecurity threats
There are a lot of numbers around cybersecurity, and most of them are scary. They don’t tell the whole story, though. The truly terrifying tales of cyberattacks are the ones with tangible consequences, such as shutting down the court system in a major American city.
The list of cybersecurity resources begins with a look at real attacks that have disrupted cities and businesses alike. Keep in mind that cyberattackers target cities because of the personally identifiable information (PII) they have in their databases. Your business or accounting firm has data about your clients that’s even more sensitive.
No. 1: A tale of two cyberattacks
Cybercriminals struck two cities, one a smaller municipality and the other one of the largest cities in the US. The repercussions were severe, affecting police and fire departments and drawing the ire of the press.
No. 2: Cybercrime and taxes
Tax-related cyberattack attempts are so widespread that the IRS had to put out a warning about them. Accounting firms need to make sure their clients—and employees—don’t fall for these scams.
Cybersecurity Resources, Part 2: The cyberthreats to your business
Accounting firms face the same threats other businesses face but are more likely to become targets because of the sensitive data they handle for clients. Part of establishing an effective cybersecurity setup is identifying the threats to your firm.
No. 3: How cybercriminals are out to get accounting firms
Find out what you’re up against and what you can do to protect yourself.
No. 4: Remote work makes cybersecurity threats worse
And then there’s this. Working remotely, which you may be doing now to some extent, exacerbates cyberthreats. Discover how—and how you can protect yourself and your business.
Cybersecurity Resources, Part 3: Tools to get the security job done
Security, of course, works better in the cloud with a hosting provider’s team of experts protecting your data and applications for you. But what are some of the tools you should consider running in the cloud to ensure peace of mind? These cybersecurity resources can shed some light:
No. 5: Application security tools everybody should use
Check out four tools that will reinforce your cybersecurity position and help keep your data safe and available.
No. 6: Make accounting workflows safe
You can use technology to establish repeatable processes for every employee in your business. Read this article to learn how to protect those workflows from the increasing threat of cyberattacks.
No. 7: How document management protects data
There’s a lot more to document management running in the cloud than just data organization. Document management can also serve as a critical element of security technology.
Cybersecurity Resources, Part 4: How to keep your people up to date
Most successful cyberattacks start with a well-meaning employee clicking on a malicious link. The more your employees know about avoiding cyberthreats, the safer your business will be. It’s critical that you teach them how to be responsible citizens online.
No. 8: The importance of security awareness training
Teaching users to recognize and steer clear of cyberattacks is critical to keeping your business safe. There’s no more effective way to educate your employees than with security awareness training.
No. 9: Make security awareness training successful
Get tips on how to succeed with security awareness training. A few simple best practices can greatly increase your chances of success.
Cybersecurity Resources, Part 5: Practice good security habits and develop a strategy
Technology and training are critical to protecting your firm. Ultimately, though, successfully maintaining cybersecurity means being smart with how you use technology every day. You and your employees need to develop good habits and have a solid security strategy in place. Consult these cybersecurity resources to learn more:
No. 10: Break bad security habits
There are probably things you do every day without thinking that put your data at risk. Learn about some common bad cybersecurity habits and how to break them.
No. 11: Improve accounting security
Accounting firms have to deal with a special set of security challenges, given the sensitive nature of the data they manage. Learn how to protect your firm in an increasingly threatening environment.
No. 12: Develop a layered security strategy
What does “layered security” mean, and why is it important? It’s not as complicated as it sounds. But it could be the difference between falling victim to and successfully fending off a cyberattack.
There’s nothing more important to your business than cybersecurity. This list of links should help answer at least some of the preliminary questions you have about protecting your data.
Security starts in the cloud. Move there today.