Why Your Data Is Safe On Cloud-based Accounting Software

Mr Kumar runs a garment shop in Mumbai. One fine day, when he started his computer to enter sales transactions, he got a rude shock. He was unable to open any program and some casino advertisements were flashing all over the screen. His computer was infected by a virus and the worst part is – the antivirus program couldn’t even detect it. He was left with no other option but to format the entire computer to clean the virus. And yes, he lost all his financial data just like that.

Sounds familiar? We often think that our office or home is the best place to store data, but it's just a notion and a false notion at that. Let us see what can cause such data loss and how Cloud accounting can help.

1) Computers are vulnerable to virus attacks.
I know you’ve installed the best possible antivirus solution but virus-makers get smarter every day. Your system is just one infected USB away from getting that virus. If not the USB, it is the Internet from where most viruses come these days. These viruses are difficult to remove and sometimes wiping the entire hard disk is the only option.

2) Weak or no access control is serious threat.
Do you know another easy way to lose your financial data? Don’t set up any access control for your computer. If you don’t know what this means, I’m sure you don’t have these controls at your office. Normally, we have only one easy-to-remember (and guess) password to unlock our computers and it is often shared with other ‘trusted’ colleagues. It is often ‘okay’ to plug in USB drives to transfer data (and movies and songs). Anyone can accidentally delete important files, even without evil intentions. It is often impossible to trace if someone copies important files from the computer.

3) Free Internet can be very costly.
Employees use office Internet casually and often do not give much thought to the security. If office computers are not protected by Firewall or Internet security software, some malicious sites can quietly install malware on the system, which can later harm your PC and cause data loss.

4) Backups are taken only after data loss.
We all know the importance of regular data backups, but are not disciplined enough when it comes to actually protecting our data. Even the backup needs to be protected and organised in such a way that it is easy to restore when needed.

5) Unforeseen incidents can wreak havoc.
A close friend once left his laptop bag in the car and went out just for a few minutes. When he returned, the window glass was broken and his laptop bag was gone. Unforeseen incidents like theft or fire can happen any time and you might not get a chance to protect your data.

According to this Wikipedia article, businesses lose billions of dollars every year due to computer viruses alone.

Why Cloud accounting is more secure
Cloud accounting service providers store their data on more sophisticated infrastructure, which is way more powerful and secure than office computers.
1. Cloud servers are protected by strong antivirus tools and are monitored 24x7 by a dedicated team of professionals.
2. Cloud data centres utilise state-of-the art electronic surveillance and multi-factor access control systems. Data centres are staffed with trained security guards 24x7 and access is authorised strictly on a least privileged basis.
3. Firewall systems protect the data from online intruders. All Cloud accounting software providers use secure HTTPS connection with strong encryption levels.
4. The backup process is extremely disciplined and historic data can be restored within a few minutes, if required.
5. Systems are designed to minimise the impact of disruptions to operations. Multiple geographic regions and availability zones allow you to remain resilient in the face of most failure modes, including natural disasters or system failures.

Such Cloud infrastructure has regularly undergone third-party certifications and evaluations. For example, leading service provider Amazon AWS has achieved ISO 27001 certification and has been validated as a Level 1 service provider under the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS). It undergoes annual SOC 1 audits and has been successfully evaluated at the Moderate level of Federal Government systems, as well as DIACAP Level 2 for DoD systems.

Each certification means an auditor has verified that specific security controls are in place and operating as intended.

More and more businesses are embracing Cloud accounting software like ProfitBooks or Xero, which are not only more secure but affordable as well. And the best part is businesses do not need to invest time and money to ensure data security.

Financial data integrity and security are top priorities for any business and Cloud accounting software tools offer a perfect solution that leads to only one thing – peace of mind.

This article is written by Ankit Dudhwewala.
About the author: Ankit Dudhwewala is the co-founder at SoftwareSuggest.com, a business software discovery platform made for Indian companies. He is a marketer by passion and a salesman by heart.