Protect Your Data Before The Breach

Nothing gives me the heebie jeebies more than the thought of losing our business data. I was in Dallas in the middle of June at a conference when I got a call from one of our staff members, he was standing outside our office and saying “The front door is smashed, we’ve been broken into.” Wow, that sent shivers down my spine. My first question to him was “Are our servers there?” I told him to run to the server room and make sure they were there. Rushing though my mind was how bad it would be if our company data, especially our software programming, was gone. How would we recover? If the servers were gone how long would it take to setup new ones? The lost productivity would be horrible too. Fortunately, it was a smash and grab job and the only things missing were a large panel monitor and phone from our lobby.

Information Security Wordle: PCI Data Security...

Image by purpleslog via Flickr

Data loss can happen in so many ways. It doesn’t have to be from a break in. What kind of policies do you need to have in place regarding employees, vendors, and overall security? Are your procedures for personnel up to date regarding data access? Who’s allowed access to critical data or client information in your business? Do you have employee handbook provisions for data and the security and backup of it? These are all questions you must ask yourself to ensure that data loss doesn’t take down your business.

This becomes even more important when you host private client data. This confidential data must be considered in a different way since a breach can be devastating.

10 Steps to a More Secure Environment

Locked server room
Sign in for those working on the server
Signed Confidentiality Agreements with staff and vendors
SAS70 remote backup
SAS70 Client Portal
Liability Insurance
Video surveillance
Advanced system password protocols
Workstation security review
Multiple Firewall protection

When you have a scare like we did you reevaluate all of your policies and procedures. We found out that our alarm company had mistyped our phone number and could not contact us. Fortunately we had good security on the server room. We have since ran tests on all systems and policies and have made sure we are protected like Fort Knox.

About the Author

Mike Giardina

President of Office Tools Professional software. Designed specifically for small to mid-sized accounting offices. Michael is also the President of North 40 Systems, a provider of technology to small businesses for the past 19 years. Previously, Michael owned a small tax practice and was employed by multiple tax accounting firms. Prior to this, he worked with CCH for 10 years as a product specialist. Michael routinely speaks at Accounting Expos and Conferences as well as online seminars on the benefits and applications of Small Business Management practices in the accounting and tax community. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colorado.