how an it risk assessment keeps la cpas data safe (slideshare)

How an IT Risk Assessment

Keeps LA CPAs Data Safe

Courtesy of FPA Technology Services, Inc.

http://www.TechGuideforLACPAs.com

http://www.techguideforlacpas.com/

Sponsored by http://www.TechGuideforLACPAs.com

Craig PollackFounder & CEO

Think of an IT risk assessment

as the sort of assessment

a Los Angeles CPA would do,




if they were as knowledgeable

and experienced with

technology and security

as they are with financial

and tax matters




Getting a third party

assessment can help you

understand the potential

impact on your business should

there be an event such as:




• A network outage due to

a natural disaster, tornado,

hurricane, or a stumble-

footed data center intern




• A denial-of-service attack

or other man made outage




• A long term power failure

such as a grid outage due

to overloading




• A disgruntled or rogue

employee




Contracting with a technology

professional, to do a thorough

analysis of your information

management environment,




can provide you with

a disaster recovery strategy

for when you really need it




Here are some of the key

elements a quality IT risk

assessment should identify:




• A thorough inventory of

hardware and software

assets




• Identification of realistic

threats in your region –

including potential natural

disasters




• Categorizing potential

vulnerabilities in people,

processes, and technology

systems




• Analysis of the likelihood

of a disaster occurring




• Impact analysis based on

your current safeguards

and contingencies




• Recommendations of

remediation strategies

and improvements




You can make adjustments

to your firm’s business

processes causing exposures

and then documenting

a Disaster Recovery Plan,




so that you’re prepared

to implement the needed

strategies to ensure business

continuity in the event of

an interruption




Some of the items you should

consider being included in a

Disaster Recovery Plan could

include:




• Making client information

available to key employees

via the Cloud, so they can

work from home should your

office become inaccessible




• How your client files are

backed up should your

internal systems go down,

or stored files become

corrupted




• What might happen if key

employees leave your firm,

either due to resignation,

termination, health crisis,

or otherwise




• Your client notification

strategy should you have

a data breach, data loss,

or your business closes down




An IT risk assessment

is the first step in identifying

the gaps that exist in your

firm’s approach to securing

its technology




Have you had an

IT risk assessment done

on your LA accounting firm?




What sort of changes have

you implemented as a result?




Please share your thoughts

in the Comments section below


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