Accounting and CPA Firms
Backups for a CPA Firm, Tested Before the Week You Cannot Lose.
Ransomware during a filing deadline is the attack that hurts a firm most. We back up what the practice runs on, keep an encrypted copy off-site, and prove it restores.
For accounting firms that cannot file, close books or answer clients without their data.
Backup and Ransomware Recovery for Accounting and CPA Firms
Why Is Ransomware Worst Right Before a Deadline?
Because the firm has the least time to be down. Returns are due on fixed dates, clients are waiting, and an attacker knows it. A firm with a tested backup can restore and keep working. A firm without one is deciding under pressure with the clock running.
What Gets Backed Up?
The data the practice depends on: servers and file shares, key workstations, and cloud mailboxes and files in Microsoft 365. Backups are encrypted and stored off-site, with daily backups as a baseline, so a failed disk, a fire or ransomware on the office network does not take the copy with it. We scope frequency around how much work the firm can afford to lose.
How Do You Know the Restore Will Work?
We test it. Restores are tested and recovery procedures validated, so the first restore of a file is not during an emergency. Backup health is part of daily monitoring: a failed or stalled job is a ticket to our team. A drive plugged into the office network and never test restored is not a backup plan.
What Do the Safeguards Rule and Your Insurer Ask?
The FTC Safeguards Rule calls for a written incident response plan that includes recovery from security events, and encryption of customer information. Cyber insurers commonly ask about backups and recovery too. We build the plan and verify the controls; confirm with your counsel how the rule applies to your firm.
What Stops Ransomware From Starting?
Layers in front of the backups: endpoint detection and response, application allow-listing, patching and staff training. If it happens anyway, the incident response plan tells everyone what to do, we contain it, and we restore from a clean copy.
What Is Included
6 PARTSOff-Site Encrypted Backups
Key data encrypted and stored away from the office.
Cloud Mailbox and File Backup
Microsoft 365 mail and files included in the backup plan.
Tested Restores
Restores tested and recovery procedures validated.
Backup Monitoring
Every failed job raises a ticket to our team.
Ransomware Protection
EDR, allow-listing and patching in front of the backups.
Incident Response Plan
A written plan, so the first hour of an incident is not improvised.
Frequently Asked Questions
4 QUESTIONSWe back up to an external drive. Is that enough?
Usually not. A drive that stays plugged in can be encrypted by ransomware along with everything else, and few are ever test restored. An off-site, encrypted copy that is tested is the standard to aim for.
Do you back up Microsoft 365 mailboxes?
Yes. Cloud mailboxes and files are part of the backup plan, because a deleted or encrypted mailbox is as much a loss as a server.
How often are backups taken?
Daily as a baseline, and more often for systems that change constantly. We scope it on the call.
Can you test a restore before busy season?
Yes. Testing before the busy season is the best time, and it is part of how we validate the recovery procedure.
More for Accounting and CPA Firms
Managed IT and Help Desk
Unlimited remote support, monitoring and maintenance at a fixed monthly cost.
Microsoft 365 and Email Security
Microsoft 365 set up, secured and run, with email protection against phishing and spoofing.
Microsoft 365 and Email Security for Accounting and CPA Firms
Managed Security Monitoring (MDR and SOC)
Round the clock monitoring, detection and response from a security operations center.
Managed Security Monitoring (MDR and SOC) for Accounting and CPA Firms
Virtual CISO (vCISO)
Senior security leadership, a roadmap and governance, without a full-time hire.
Accounting and CPA Firms
Managed IT and security for CPA firms, with the WISP and FTC Safeguards Rule in view.
Talk Through Your Backups.
Pick a time, ideally before the deadline crunch. Tell us what the firm cannot run without.
Looking for CMMC? Our Compliance Division, Capital Cyber Compliance, delivers it.
Under 25 people? Apply for an in-kind cybersecurity grant from Cyber Grants Alliance, a nonprofit. No cost to you.