Your QuickBooks customer data contains highly sensitive information that may include your customers’ personal and banking details, such as high-risk credit card numbers. If an unauthorized person or cybercriminal gains access to that data, your business and customers may get in trouble. The cases of security breaches are on the rise globally. Fraud, hacking, and cyberattacks pose a serious threat to the data your customers have entrusted you with. This article will discuss the best practices to keep customer data safe in QuickBooks accounting solutions.<\/p>\n
The first step to keep customer data safe is to collect only necessary information, thereby keeping data collection to a minimum. You cannot have something stolen if you don’t have it. If you collect information such as email IDs or residential addresses but do not send emails or letters, reconsider what to collect. Delete unnecessary data to reduce the size of data collection, making it easier to manage and protect.<\/li>\n
Malicious programs such as viruses, malware, and ransomware are a major threat to small and mid-sized businesses. They can reach your system through various devices and infect your email, web, and server applications. Equip all computing devices connected to your system with firewalls and antivirus protection. Make sure all computers and portable devices install the latest software update to fight against the most recent malware. One of the best solutions to protect such devices is by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection) with Microsoft 365 plans. Authorized providers such as Apps4Rent can host QuickBooks on virtual desktops with Microsoft 365 plans for businesses to take advantage of Microsoft Defender along with other popular applications such as Word and Excel. This also ensures that the application and its content are stored in secure servers that can be accessed over the internet through encrypted connections.<\/li>\n
Encrypting customer information makes it unreadable to any unauthorized person. Encryption software provides customer data with a robust layer of security and reduces the risk of being mishandled by anyone. You can further limit access to a specific employee and lower the potential threats from inside of your organization.<\/li>\n
Password-protect your system as well as the QuickBooks application, and give access to the employees that operate QuickBooks. As weak passwords are easy to guess for cybercriminals, make strong and complex passwords. A combination of characters in upper and lower cases, numbers, and symbols can help you design strong passwords. Update passwords immediately when an employee leaves your organization to protect data against potential theft and harm.<\/li>\n
Add another layer of security to password-protected devices with two-factor authentication. It takes two unique pieces of evidence to confirm a person’s authenticity. The two-factor authentication method ensures protection against cyberattacks as hackers and scammers can’t access data even if they manage to steal a victim’s credentials. Some QuickBooks editions allow you to set up even three levels of permissions to help you better control who can access incredibly sensitive information.<\/li>\n
Do you have an effective data security policy in place, and have you made it clear to your employees? If not, you should set rules for using hardware and software resources according to your organization’s security goals. Setting a guideline can help you prohibit activities that can put your data at the risk of being exposed through your employees on various platforms, including social media.<\/li>\n
Having a well-designed and up-to-date response plan to deal with data breaches and theft can help you respond correctly to a cyberattack or an unpleasant event, such as data becoming inaccessible due to resource failure. Outline roles and responsibilities for your IT team and all the employees that will be accessing QuickBooks customer data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Businesses are built on trust, and one single case of a data breach can damage your relationship with your entire customer base. While the whole business data must be protected, accounting requires special attention as it deals with sensitive financial information. Hosting QuickBooks in secure data centers prevents valuable customer data from being corrupted, stolen, or lost. As an Intuit authorized hosting provider<\/strong>, Apps4Rent offers QuickBooks hosting services<\/a><\/span> at affordable prices. We are available 24\/7 via phone, chat, and email for hosting plans inquiries and assistance. Contact us today.<\/p>\n