Cybercriminals are Specifically Targeting CPA Firms

When you really think about it, CPA firms are really the ideal target for the financially-motivated cybercriminal. This means that these firms should be particularly on their guard against online threats. This requires an awareness of how these threats are shaped.

Let’s take a few moments to consider how today’s most prevalent threats would target an accounting firm and what can be done to help stop them.

Let’s begin by identifying the biggest modern threats that a CPA will need to deal with.

What Are the Top Cyber Threats a CPA Should Worry About?

The outcome of any cyberattack—especially one targeting an accounting firm—is often directly tied to finance. Regardless of how an attack is shaped, the ultimate impact will likely be most easily measured in dollars and cents. So, while the cyberthreats that CPAs need to deal with can all have vastly different impacts (from business loss and closure to a high churn rate in clients to legal ramifications), the final result is generally some kind of financial loss.

Having said that, CPAs will likely have to deal with a few kinds of threats in particular:

Denial of Service Attacks

A Denial of Service/DoS attack is one that damages the targeted CPA by quite literally preventing them from operating. By directing a ton of fake traffic toward a targeted system, often by using a botnet, a cybercriminal can overwhelm the network and effectively shut it down. These attacks are commonly used to hide another by creating a diversion, or simply to interfere with a business’ capabilities until payment is received from the target.

How well would your firm be able to operate if your team couldn’t log in to access their software? Chances are, not well. For a modern CPA to suddenly no longer have the data and tools they rely on their network to deliver, it’s effectively a productivity killer.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing is a common means for an attacker to get a foot in the door, as it bypasses the protections a business has to defend its network by taking advantage of the end user. By sending a threat that is disguised as legitimate business communication, a phishing attack can often get the attacker the access they need for their objectives. To accomplish this, the attacker will often rely on base emotional manipulation—fear, jealousy, and greed—to separate the target’s actions from their rational thought process.

Let’s say you or a team member suddenly received an email that said your website has copyrighted materials on it and had attached proof of their claims, or that your website was to be taken down unless you submitted a payment through an oh-so-convenient link. Chances are, your first thought would be less “is this a scam?” and more “oh no, I have to do this right now!” Educating your team on how to spot these threats will be valuable to preserving your firm’s security and productivity. Phishing attacks come in such a wide range of flavors that it really is crucial to block and limit as many of them as you can and educate your staff on how to be vigilant. 

Ransomware

This particular variety of cyberattack has exploded in use in recent years, growing in both prevalence and cost. What’s worse, cybercriminals are constantly coming up with ways to undermine the methods that businesses use to minimize their impacts.

In order to avoid a ransomware infection, your priority really needs to be user education, as many of these efforts are spread through the aforementioned phishing attacks. Ransomware is a serious issue for businesses of all kinds, which is why it is so important to stay as up-to-date as possible. For the CPA, losing access to data effectively leaves them without a paddle.

Clearly, Falling Victim to Any of These Threats Would Be Bad for a CPA

We can help protect your firm. We’ll take a look at the security you have in place on your network to see where any improvements can be made before we assist you in making them.

Give us a call at (774) 213-9701 to get started.