Cloud Accounting Security for Your Firm

Nowadays, operating your company completely online is definitely the new trend. However, to succeed, you require the appropriate technology stack made up of several elements of cloud-based software. Cloud accounting security is on the mind of many of you to ensure that your customers are well-protected and secure.

If you want to operate an online business at a minimum, you'll require cloud software that covers these areas of operation:

• Document storage
• Tools for communication to your employees as well as your customers
• Accounting systems

We won't get into this in detail, but a cloud-based firm is more efficient, more agile, more flexible, and less costly to operate than a traditional cloud-based company. There's no discussion on this. The discussion is about security and the possibility that cloud accounting security could be as strong as businesses operating in a non-cloud setting.

Cloud accounting security

What is the security of Cloud computing for accounting firms?

A lot of this is dependent on the person who is actually storing your data and how secure the data you store is. However, let's suppose that we're dealing with major players that firms could use to access the cloud to meet their software requirements. Players like Xero, Quickbooks Online, Google, etc.

Hackers, equipment failures as well as power outages and natural disasters were the biggest threats to servers on premises. Let's examine the above and consider how it compares with having your own server at your office.

Hacking

If you've got an advanced IT team equipped with modern equipment that is constantly maintained, some might suggest that a server on your premises could be more secure against hacking than data stored by a cloud service. The problem is that the majority of businesses do not have an extremely advanced IT department and will not have modern equipment, nor will it be maintained regularly.

The truth is that if using a program or file via the cloud, it's likely hosted by one or more of the following giants: Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, or Google. Are these companies vulnerable to hacking? Certainly. However, which security practice are you expecting to be more secure? Google's? Or your local IT person? We're betting on Google.

We are aware of one company that was victimized by a ransomware attack and suffered a significant amount of data destroyed because of this. The companies that are top of the line are not invulnerable to attack; they are extremely advanced in detecting threats and attacks and have security teams specifically focused on defending against attackers. This isn't to suggest that their systems cannot be breached; however, we would rate them that they are less vulnerable than a business with no sophisticated IT infrastructure.

We also know that the larger the organization targets, the larger the goal; however, the cloud, or even on premises, can be 100% secure.

Power outages, equipment failure and natural catastrophes

What happens if there are problems with your server's hardware? There are backups that are created, and then there is a disruption to the business that happens. If your backup processes aren't in place, the disruption could have devastating consequences for your company. One of the most devastating scenarios that could affect your business is losing data or equipment is definitely one factor that could trigger this.