Practice Management How to Hire a Cybersecurity Pro for Your Tax Practice Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Written by Intuit Accountants Team Modified Mar 13, 2019 2 min read To protect your office and your clients, many tax preparers hire a cybersecurity professional. Every tax business is unique, so you should discuss your specific concerns with someone you hire. This will help safeguard your business and your clients’ data. Here are some steps you should take to select a cybersecurity professional: Ask for recommendations. Talk to other business owners or professionals for recommendations and references. Be selective. Ultimately, you will need to select the person you trust most. You should choose someone with whom you feel comfortable discussing the safety and security of your firm and clients. Interview. Ask questions of the candidates to learn just how much experience they have in data protection. Here are some preliminary examples of questions you can ask to get the ball rolling: How does ransomware work and what can we do to protect our systems? What are the best options to securely back up data, and why are those options the best? Do you have suggestions regarding data encryption, malware, firewalls, disaster recovery and remote access tools? Have you ever created a security plan for a similar business? Can you do an assessment of my systems and processes to find vulnerabilities or weaknesses? If so, will you provide recommendations to strengthen my security? Will you provide ongoing monitoring of my systems as security threats evolve? If so, how often do you recommend changes? Depending on your situation, there may be additional questions to ask. You can tailor more specific questions to your own facts and circumstances. Make it official. When hiring a cybersecurity professional, secure an agreement or engagement letter so both parties understand the terms of the agreement. IRS Links for More Information: Data Theft Information for Tax Professionals Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals Editor’s note: Check out more aricles on security and anti-fraud on the Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax Pro Center. Previous Post Use tax season to shift from tax prep to tax… Next Post Tax Pros for Reel: If Accountants Could Be Superheroes, What… Written by Intuit Accountants Team The Intuit® Accountants team provides ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® Tax, ProSeries® Tax, and add-on software and services to enable workflow for its customers. Visit us at https://proconnect.intuit.com, or follow us on Twitter @IntuitAccts. More from Intuit Accountants Team Comments are closed. Browse Related Articles Tax Law and News January 2025 tax and compliance deadlines Workflow tools On the Books podcast: Merry books-to-tax season Tax Law and News Navigating year-end planning for businesses Practice Management How market competitors have become firm predators Tax Law and News Accountant’s guide to secure file sharing Practice Management Consultant spotlight: Jason Tritle Practice Management Consultant spotlight: Corey Spear Practice Management Consultant spotlight: Drew Hickman Practice Management Top 7 advantages of choosing a firm niche Advisory Services Your firm: Maximizing value over volume