Canadian Accountants Get a Cybersecurity Booster Shot Ahead of the 2024 Tax Season

Canadian Accountants Get a Cybersecurity Booster Shot Ahead of the 2024 Tax Season

The Financial Sector Experiences Over 350,000 Unique Threats Annually, But Few Accounting Firms Can Handle the Risk of Breaches and Compliance Violations

Toronto, Canada, February 29, 2024 – Data breaches cost Canadian businesses an average of $6M, according to a 2023 Mastercard study, but for most accounting professionals, this is an astronomical cost that constitutes an existential risk. With an average detection time in excess of 200 days, accountants lack the time and resources to identify and react to data breaches before it’s too late, let alone in time for this year’s accounting season starting in April.

Datarisk Canada and the AICPA recommends that CPA firms take a variety of steps to protect themselves from data and reputational breaches, regulatory fines and liability arising from cyberattacks, including appointing a Chief Security Officer, developing an Incident Response Plan and signing up for cyberliability insurance.

But most accountants have cited even more basic risk maturity issues.

The top 5 cyber issues faced by accountants:

1. Insecure tax and financial data transfers expose clients and affect accountants
2. Poor password practices create opportunities for data breaches
3. Without security training, low sophistication leads to reduced protection.
4. Accountants without accountability: 2FA is not widely used by professionals
5. Inadequate data retention practices: do accountants store too much data for too long?

Claudiu Popa, author of the Canadian Cyberfraud Handbook and CPA Canada Research Study Lead, said “accounting professionals are trusted advisors to so many businesses and individuals. They deserve access to secure tools and practices, so this Tax Season – and to coincide with Fraud Prevention Month 2024 – we are offering all financial professionals access to our secure platform, extensive cybersecurity resource library and multifactor access as a complementary tool when they sign up for a security and privacy awareness session.

Cyber attacks on the financial sector saw an 80% increase between 2017 and 2020. To assist the sector as a whole, Datarisk Canada incides Canadian Financial advisors and accounting professionals to sign up for the “Cybersecurity and Privacy for Tax and Accounting Professionals” course, a 120-minute immersion starting at $500 for small businesses (a $2000 discount over enterprise plans). The course includes complementary access to the secure Datarisk (Verify™) Audit Portal with support for encrypted file transfer and free access to the vast Library of Cybersecurity Compliance Resources. Qualified professionals can request access from www.Datarisk.ca.