Establish Better Data Security with Cloud Accounting

So you’ve chosen the convenient, efficient route of cloud accounting for your business, yet something gnaws at you. Sure, it’s versatile. And yes, it can be comprehensive when you choose the right software package. But still, there’s that troubling question…just how secure is your online accounting software?

Cloud Software Security Controls

Well, you can rest easy. You don’t have to stay up at night worrying about whether your small business accounting data is at risk. Cloud accounting in general, and ZarMoney in particular, has established a strong set of controls to adequately protect your computer software and your data. You can count on an environment that employs basically the same physical security measures as do most banks. That’s vital because, according to national statistics, businesses lose billions of dollars annually to computer viruses alone.

At the application level, features like controlled access with three-part authentication, required password changes at specified intervals and strong session management with log-in timeouts are just a few of the safeguards employed in the cloud. At the platform level, the second set of security measures is normally implemented, such as biometric access controls, automated security scanning, hardened networks and firewalls, encryption on all data transmissions and more.

ZarMoney, for instance, provides role-based access limits so that you can provide certain levels of access, based on a staff member’s position within your company. We also include restrictive controls that can designate specific locations…such as the office, the home…where access can be allowed.

We live in a world where vigilance is imperative. Though you may have a very good anti-virus program for your computer, virus-makers get smarter every day, finding new, clever workarounds to invade your digital space. Fraud risk increases when your data is stored only on your computer. Aside from hackers, viruses, worms, spyware and identity theft, what do you do if your laptop, along with all of its stored data, is lost or stolen? If this data is stored in the cloud, it remains intact and protected under your account access so a potential thief would have to break the password and user name should he be interested in the data inside. And he doesn't have any clues on solving your password, the only way in is brute force attack.

This an attack that tries all possible combinations of your password possible, and tries all the different combinations of math to decrypt the data, should he be able to not open the door but would be able to catch the data streamed. And as any security expert will tell you, as of now, the year 2020 brute force attacks aren't very effective ways to get inside of other people's data. 

Encryption complexity rapidly increases, and as of now, there is standard encryption of 256-bits. The most advanced being AES encryption system. To break this system (to calculate all possible outcomes) it would take, to the most powerful supercomputer in the world (MilkyWay-2) a couple of million years. And that is already a solid time frame for you to come up with a way to get your data to safety, out of thief's reach, 

If necessary, historic data can be restored within minutes. Besides, cloud infrastructure regularly undergoes third-party certifications and evaluations to ensure that it remains in good working order.

Generally speaking data in the cloud is safe from a technical point of view, and it is human error that often creates a window of opportunity. This means, that most common way in, is to simply ask for the password of your users. These attacks are called Phishing and are much more effective than simply trying different combinations. 

So how safe are my data in the cloud? What are cloud companies doing to protect my data?
Among basic safety measures that cloud companies implement we can find:

1. Advanced firewalls. Not just any firewall, but advanced systems checking for data packets, examine the source and destination data and also verify packet integrity.
2. Intrusion detection. 
3. Event logging. In case it is already too late to stop the intruder, it is important to proceed with the analysis of the system, see what happened, how did it happen, and to release safety patch to patch the path. This seems like a far-too-late solution, but it happens quite often that intruder chooses for his first attack so-called poking attack. This attack is meant only to poke defence systems to see whether a full-scale attack would be possible or not. Even logging also serves as a database of all odd user behaviour, the user needs and helps improving security systems by evaluating user behaviour patterns.
4. Internal firewalls. 
5. Encryption. 
6. Physical security. Every modern data centre is being monitored by a surveillance system and has on-spot guards to take care of possible in-person intruders, secure data in case of a natural catastrophe or during unexpected events, like a fire attack.
7. Insurance. It can happen that this all will fail. What then? In most of the developed world data, centres must be insured. So when there is already data breach, you should be compensated for every misfortune this brings.

Learn more about security of the cloud in this detailed read by ZarMoney. 

Built-in Monitors, Automatic Updates

At the same time, running a small business is a full-time job. So unless you happen to be an IT expert, it is virtually impossible to stay current with the latest technology in data security. With cloud software, this new technology is built into the system so that you don’t have to worry about staying abreast of every innovation. You can be sure that updates are occurring regularly and that only authorized users have access to the software and data.

With regular system backups occurring automatically and off-site storage handled by servers that are constantly monitored and maintained by a data service center with privileged access only, there is no need to check and re-check the status of your security controls and their efficacy. Because you never need to install software on any device, you also avoid the risks and hassles of improper installation.

Selecting Your Accounting Software Partner

While it’s true that most cloud-based bookkeeping software programs are significantly more secure than a premise-based system, it’s important to find the right accounting software partner. You should keep in mind such matters as the company’s level and accessibility of support, the software’s versatility and ease-of-use, as well as the various layers of security offered with the service. A reputable online accounting software provider will be happy to answer security questions and provide an overview of what it offers and how it protects your data.

Read more about cloud innovation and its development in this short article. 

Key Takeaways

Cloud is faster, safer, more accessible and more reliable data storage, especially when it comes to sensitive data. Some governments have policies that guarantee that your data won't even leave your country of residence, this is a case of Switzerland for instance. 

Cloud is being secured on multiple fronts and this system is working out thanks to economy of scale, where large server-providers like Amazon, Google, Microsoft or Alibaba host millions of servers. This also keeps constantly driving prices down, from the first HDD for servers invented by IBM in 1956, where 1 MB of storage cost approximately $10,000, till modern server storages keeping 1 MB for $0.00025 today. 

From safety measures like intelligent systems that take care about your data backups, anti-fire systems and anti-flood systems, to physical human security and physical storage destroying when its time is up, all these measures make sure your data stay where you want them to stay - out of reach, and are accessible from where you need to access them - anywhere.

So what is keeping you back from saving money, time and increasing the efficiency of your systems? Try ZarMoney FREE today.