How to Protect Your Business and Financial Information

In today’s age of digital information where almost anyone can look at business information across public records, business owners must work carefully in protecting sensitive business and financial information against unscrupulous actors such as hackers and dark web dealers. Stolen information are often sold in the dark spaces of the dark web and it can be used to commit financial crime through impersonation. This is where Information Security comes to play and businesses — no matter how small or how well established they are, must be made aware of the stern fundamentals of information security. A data breach can have serious consequences, both for individuals and businesses. In this blog post, we will discuss the fundamentals of information security and how you can protect your sensitive data.

What is Information Security?
Information security is the practice of protecting information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It is a broad field that encompasses a variety of technologies, processes, and procedures.

Why is Information Security Important?
There are many reasons why information security is important. Here are just a few:

Financial Loss: A data breach can lead to significant financial loss. Hackers may steal your personal information and use it to commit identity theft or fraud.

Reputation Damage: A data breach can damage your reputation. Customers and clients may lose trust in you if they believe that your data is not secure.

Legal Consequences: A data breach can have legal consequences. You may be subject to fines or lawsuits if you fail to protect your data adequately. Business data always contain customer or client information and failing to protect such sensitive information has severe legal penalties from the government and the customers who were affected.

How to Protect Your Financial and Accounting Information
There are a number of steps you can take to protect your financial and accounting information. Here are a few tips:

Observe Privilege Information Access: Restrict information access or record books to authorised personnel in the business.

Avoid sharing Business Information on Social Media: Be mindful of what we post and often, as much as possible, don’t share sensitive information of photos of the back office at your business area.

Use Strong Passwords: Create strong passwords that are difficult to guess. Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your accounts. When you log in, you will be prompted to enter a code that is sent to your phone or email.

Be Careful What You Click on: Be careful what you click on when you are online. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or attachments.

Keep Your Software Updated: Keep your software and operating system up to date. This will help to protect you from security vulnerabilities.

Use a Firewall: A firewall can help to protect your computer from unauthorized access.

Educate Your Employees: If you are a business owner, educate your employees about information security. Make sure that they understand the importance of protecting your data.

Software and Technology: Utilise Firewalls, Anti-virus and anti-malware software as solutions for your business that includes your terminal computers, wireless network and website by keeping its code and plugins up to date.

Receipt and Document Disposal: As much as possible, don’t just throw away books, receipts or documents that are no longer used, directly on the trash bin. You may destroy these documents with a paper shredder.

NOAC Consultants is an Accounting Services Firm based in Coburg, Melbourne that services small to medium sized businesses with Accounting services and tax preparation solutions.