Data breaches are on the rise. According to Statista, data breaches impacted 353 million individuals in 2023. Hence, with the increasing cyber threat spectrum, cybersecurity has been a focus for most organizations worldwide.
This scenario is even more true for the accounting industry. Compared to most industries, accounting firms deal with confidential client data, which they can’t afford to compromise.
Last year, accounting firm Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser had to give data breach notices to its clients informing them that their data had been compromised. Given the financial and reputational repercussions, accounting firms must look for advanced solutions to stay a step ahead of cybercriminals.
One such solution for preventing cyber threats is opting for managed security services.
What are Managed Security Services?
Managed security services are the services provided by a third-party provider, where they offer data protection by deploying a state-of-the-art infrastructure to monitor, mitigate, and report data vulnerabilities.
For an accounting firm, deploying and managing a robust on-premises cybersecurity system can take a large chunk of their budget. As the managed security services provider (MSSP) serves multiple clients, they have the tools and team to handle your cybersecurity needs with ease.
Let’s see why your accounting firm should budget for managed security services in 2024.
1. Evolving Threat Landscape
As the data security standards, infrastructure, and protocols are becoming more advanced, so is the cyber threat landscape. Whatever data security safeguards you put in place, the attackers always seem to be one step ahead. With the evolution of AI and LLM (Large Language Models), attackers are now able to launch more focused, difficult-to-trace phishing attacks.
By choosing a managed security services provider, you can stay one step ahead of these attackers because the provider is up-to-date with the latest data breach methods. Consequently, they implement the best security strategies, protocols, and architecture.
2. Technical Expertise
Deploying an on-premise security infrastructure is no easy task. You need to hire highly skilled professionals specialized in data security. However, as an accounting firm, where data security is not your core business process, deploying such a team can be expensive.
A managed security service provider has a team of professionals with years of expertise in data security. Hence, any deployment, upgradation, and scaling in the security infrastructure is taken care of at the backend by the security team.
Also Read: Managed Security Services for Accountants
3. Advanced Infrastructure
The deployment of an advanced security infrastructure is a challenging affair in an on-premise infrastructure. It requires advanced equipment (firewall, etc.), software (antivirus, etc.), and a skilled team to manage all of it. As an accounting firm, it can take a lot of work for you to deploy an advanced security infrastructure.
A managed security service provider deploys a state-of-the-art security architecture on the cloud. Moreover, the latest firewalls, antivirus, and antimalware are installed to counter any data breach.
4. Reduced Cost
If you plan to handle cybersecurity on the premises, you need to spend both on both capital and operational processes. Firstly, you need to build a security infrastructure with the latest software and hardware. Once built, the cost of managing and upgrading them is cyclical. Also, you need to hire IT professionals specialized in cybersecurity.
In the case of an MSSP, you need to pay them a monthly or annual fee, and they will take care of the rest. Hence, it saves you big on the expenses.
Also Read: Top Cybersecurity Trends for 2024
5. 24/7/365 Monitoring and Threat Detection
Cyberattacks can happen at any time. Without constant network monitoring, any of these attacks can breach your internal network without you noticing it. For instance, your employee might open a malicious website during the day, causing the system to be infected by ransomware. For an accounting firm, it becomes tough for you to monitor the incoming network traffic without the right tools.
A competent managed services provider offers round-the-clock networking monitoring and threat detection. Any suspicious traffic is detected and mitigated at the firewall level itself. Moreover, their system also detects any unusual traffic to avoid DDoS attacks.
6. Ensuring Compliance
Accounting firms need to comply with various data compliance regulations, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to avoid heavy penalties. For instance, not complying with GDPR can land you a fine of 2 Million Euros or 2 percent of the firm’s annual turnover. Can you imagine finding yourself in this situation?
However, with the changing technological landscape, dynamic regulatory parameters, and limited resources, it becomes a headache to ensure compliance with the limited on-premise security setup.
The managed security service provider helps ensure data compliance for your accounting firm. The MSSPs, serving multiple clients, are already certified in various regulatory compliances, be it GDPR, PCI DSS, etc. Moreover, they can also customize the security services as per your compliance requirements.
7. Reputation
According to CNET, Ransomware shuts down 1 out of every 5 small businesses it impacts. However, this not only has to do with the penalties and costs associated with a ransomware attack but also with reputation. When a data breach event happens in an accounting firm, the present clients lose faith in the firm’s ability to protect their confidential data.
An MSSP helps you maintain your reputation by keeping data breaches at bay. Also, it gives the clients a sense of reassurance that their data is safe from cyber threats.
8. Downtime and Ransom Costs
When your organization becomes a victim of a data breach event, such as ransomware, the attackers ask for a ransom not to make the data public. In 2023, ransomware attacks cost businesses a whooping $1 Bn.
This could lead to adverse circumstances for your accounting firm, as catastrophic as shutting down for business. Also, in the event of a data breach, you need to halt the operations until the crisis is dealt with. It can cause a downtime of hours, days, or even weeks.
A managed security services provider prevents ransom and downtime costs by avoiding these data breach events.
9. Focus on Core Processes
Handling data security in-house gives you a headache like no other. From enabling constant network monitoring to ensuring data compliance, you are also on the edge. This makes your focus shift from the core business processes.
Opting for a managed security services provider gives you peace of mind. Since all your data security concerns are outsourced to a more skilled and advanced security setup (infrastructure and team), you can now concentrate more on serving your clients better and scaling up the accounting process.
Also Read: Why Managed SOC? Exploring the Benefits of Proactive Cybersecurity Solutions
Selecting the Right Managed Security Services is Vital
Deciding to go for managed security services to take care of cybersecurity is the first step. The next step is to opt for the best security services provider. ACE’s managed security services offer complete data protection at the endpoint and network level with 24/7/365 network monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and policy management.
Get a 7-day free trial now to check out our range of security services. Or Call us at: +1-855-223-4887 now.
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