Importance of Protecting Your Company’s Online Financial Data

Protecting your business’s financial data is imperative in today’s online world. One hacker, leak, or cyberattack can cost you everything, so it’s essential to take the steps to protect your information. Watkins & Co. can inform you on best practices and help you take the proper precautions to protect your business and everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish.

Best Practices for Protecting Financial Data Online

Why is protecting your finances online important? Between emails, texts, cloud platforms, devices, and websites, there are many places for your financial data to live, even without you being aware of it. All it takes is one breach and your business could face serious consequences. If your business experiences a cyberattack, your company is at risk for theft, fraud, ransom payments, as well as damage to your credibility and reputation. A breach of your financial data can spell disaster for your company, impacting relationships with clients and vendors, delaying payments and payroll, and even shutting down operations. That’s not to mention if your client’s information is shared which leads to a whole host of legal and financial implications.

What are some of the most common cyberattacks on financial data? Business financial information faces various risks and methods of online attacks. Phishing is where staff members receive deceptive emails that may cause them to share private login information. These unintentional mistakes can compromise your client’s or company’s financial data. Ransomware is utilized by cyberattackers to lock you out of your systems until you pay a ransom to regain control. Perhaps the most common online threats to financial data are using weak passwords or having ineffective access control measures.

So how do you protect your company’s financial data online? There are several steps you can take to make your business a hard target for online criminals. Implementing these best practices for protecting your financial data online will keep your finances right where they should be: in your hands only.

• Strong Access Controls: Limit access to financial data to only your leadership team. Anyone with administrative access should use multi-factor authentication and have training on creating strong passwords.
• Encrypt Data: If your data is encrypted, even if all other methods of protection fail and your finances data is accessed, it will be unreadable.
• Update Software: Software and system updates are often where vulnerabilities are fixed. Make sure that your operating systems, antivirus tools, and any accounting software you use are updated regularly to ensure you have the latest and greatest.
• Secure Backup Data: It’s important to use only secure backup systems and locations to keep copies of your financial data.
• Train Your Staff: Educate your employees on how to recognize phishing emails, as well as teaching methods of sharing files safely, creating logins, and best practices for handling sensitive information.

Best Accountant, CPA for Businesses Jackson, MS

One of the best things you can do is to rely on a trusted partner in business finance. Watkins & Co has offices conveniently located in Flowood, Madison, Jackson, and surrounding areas, and we incorporate effective avenues of cybersecurity to protect your online finances. Our experienced CPAs and accountants can assist you with assessing your current financial data protection practices and select secure financial systems that will make your information safe and secure – equipped to withstand today’s digital landscape.

Give Watkins & Co a call today for experienced business accounting, tax preparation assistance, payroll services, data protection, and much more!