by Felicien | Nov 27, 2018 | Education
Businesses of all types and sizes today must navigate a complex matrix of vendors and partners. In many cases, there is frequent sharing of data, including sensitive and proprietary information, that could be problematic if hacked or stolen.
The advent of new technologies, including the Internet of Things, automation and cloud systems, make for the collection and sharing of information more accessible than ever before. However, the increased volume, accessibility and transfer of data creates problems and added risk for companies. To help companies protect information and minimize the risk of data theft, here are 6 answers to common third-party security questions.
1. How Can I Assess My Company’s Data Security?
The place to start is with an internal audit of your system. Which vendors have access to which data? How are they connecting to your networks and what can they access?
It’s smart to map your third-party partners, understanding who they are, how they access data and what data they can access. Make sure third parties only can reach information that is necessary. Often these audits can detect access that was given long ago to third parties that no longer should or need to have access.
2. What Can I Do to Assess My Third-Party Partners?
There are basic things you can do to ensure that third parties have the right safeguards in place when using your data. Asking for copies of their data security policies and audit results is an excellent place to start. If there are practices or results of concern, you can ask for more details. Some companies require their vendors to undergo a thorough security audit with detailed questionnaires or independent verification of processes and systems.
The practice is not just good business sense. Many new regulatory mandates, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), require companies to ensure that third-party vendors are also compliant with the appropriate requirements.
3. What Foundation Do I Need to Data Security and Third Parties?
Be sure your organization has clear policies and procedures that govern data access and security related to third parties. Policies should be evaluated regularly to reflect new technologies or practices.
4. Who Is Responsible for Data Security?
Often, risk ownership can be a gray area as companies exchange data, update it and enter it into each other’s systems. A risk assessment matrix should be created that defines and tracks data within your corporate ecosystem. The matrix should include:
Vendors, partners, customers and subcontractors throughout your supply chain
Classifications of each third party based on how they interact with the organization
Risk types mapped to each third party
Risk levels assigned to each vendors’ assigned risk types
This exercise allows you to build a comprehensive risk assessment model to inform decisions, policies and access.
5. What Technologies Can I Use to Help With Security?
Ultimately, control rests with your organization. You can control the parties with access, the types of access, and the assets that can be accessed. Here are some tools to deploy to assist with that control:
Encryption is effective in protecting data stored in your systems and transmitted to other parties. Encryption need not be applied to everything, but high-risk information merits investment in encryption tools.
Two-factor authentication is another consideration. If you use multi-factor verification tools for internal access, you most certainly should do the same for external access.
Risk-based authentication goes a step further. Rule-based access, such as only allowing access from a particular domain, can be incorporated into your security plan. If an access request does not meet the pre-defined rules, additional authentication layers are applied.
Monitoring networks is a wise move. Monitoring what is accessed and by whom allows for a better understanding of information transfer. Firewalls that inspect data packets and issue alerts when unauthorized data are in play help prevent unwanted extrusion.
6. What Documentation Does My Company Need?
When you’ve determined your guidelines, policies and rules, be sure to put it in writing. Make it a part of your new contracts and insist on amendments to any existing agreements with third parties. Contractual guidelines help to protect companies from litigation as more plaintiffs go after multiple parties in the case of a data breach.
Not all contracts need to be the same when it comes to data access provisions, although it is good practice to establish a baseline of minimum requirements in all applicable third-party agreements.
With the growing threat of cyber attacks, an active approach to data security is a way for organizations to mitigate risk and ensure that data stay in the right hands.
by Felicien | Nov 26, 2018 | Education
Running a business is an expensive proposition, and it only starts with paying your vendors and employees. The tax codes can be a quagmire of confusion for many business owners, especially when it comes to more complex concepts such as the depreciation laws around technology. The good news is that there have been some meaningful changes around Section 179 for 2018, meaning you may be able to recognize compelling savings if you quickly take action before the end of the year. Here is how you can take advantage of this advanced tax savings while fitting in that technology spend before budgets reset in January.
Upgrade Your Tech, Earn a Tax Credit
While the Internal Revenue Code’s Section 179 sounds complicated, the net effect is quite simple. If you upgrade your technology during the year, you’re eligible to reduce your tax liability for that year by depreciating the equipment — even if you made the purchase on December 31, 2018. This accelerated deduction allows you to write off the entire cost of your technology upgrade, up to 1 million dollars for 2018 on purchases of up to $2.5 million in technology products. This effectively represents a 100% bonus depreciation for both new and used equipment. The government hopes that this extensive benefit will help support the growth and infrastructure investment of businesses throughout the country — which is quite likely considering the full breadth of the discount you can expect to see by taking full advantage of the tax credit.
What Are the Benefits of Accelerated Depreciation?
The accelerated depreciation that is a part of Section 179 of the tax code allows you to see immediate reductions to your tax bill. Applying for the tax credit is relatively straightforward, and there is a high degree of flexibility available in how the credit is utilized throughout the year. The savings can be substantial, especially if you decide to lease or finance your equipment for several years. Your tax professional may be able to help you properly structure a financing agreement that allows you to add software and equipment to your business without a net cash impact for the year.
What Are IRS Section 179 Guidelines for 2018?
The benefits that you can derive from Section 179 will change from year to year, so it’s essential to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about this exceptional savings opportunity. For 2018, you can find the latest information on Section179.org, including details on timing, calculators to determine how the deduction will impact your organization, answers to frequently asked questions and more. The types of equipment that are included in Section 179 are:
Construction equipment
Farm equipment
Medical equipment
Printing equipment
Vehicles
Tools
Office supplies
Office furniture
Computers
Mobile devices
Other electronics
Software
Of all of the technology solutions that can be covered by Section 179, software is the most popular — but some limitations are involved with receiving your full tax credit on software.
Does IRS Section 179 Have Any Limitations?
Along with the total dollar cap, IRS section 179 does have some limitations. There are a few types of equipment that are excluded, but the tax credit is valid for most types of software and equipment. This credit is simple to use and can provide a significant boost to your bottom line — along with providing your business with some exciting new tech to start the new year. The purchase of software is one of the most popular ways for companies to utilize their Section 179 tax credit, but there are some considerations. The software must be available to the general public and must not be custom-designed for your business. The software must also have a determinable useful life of more than one year, be used for an income-producing activity and be financed with a specific type of qualifying lease or loan. Missing any of these requirements can negate your ability to utilize Section 179.
Currently, the following types of software are not eligible for Section 179 tax credits:
Websites — although this may change in 2019
Databases that are not part of the public domain
Software that is highly customized for your organization
Want to learn more about IRS Section 179 and how your organization can leverage this savings opportunity? The official Section179.org website should be your first stop for any questions, but there is also a great deal of useful information on Investopedia.com. While it may be a little more difficult to wade through, you can always get your information straight from the source at the IRS.gov website, where they detail Section 179 deduction information, special depreciation allowances, MACRS and more. Need assistance working through how Section 179 can benefit your particular organization and the value that you can gain from new technology?
Watch our Section 179 training video.
by Felicien | Nov 26, 2018 | Education
We all know that social media can play a significant role in marketing your product. In the world today, more people are getting hooked up to social media meaning that the market is shifting in that direction. Social media calendar is, therefore, able to help you understand your audience’s preference. As a business person, you can interact with your followers and get their say concerning your product.
This is how the calendar helps.
Achievement of Goals
An organization is driven by its goal; both long term and short term. This is the main reason for the calendar. This step should be realized even before you find out how to create the social media calendar.
The goals set on the social media calendar are realistic and achievable. With everything set on the platform, you can easily track the record of your performance and do away with what holding you back. At the end of the day, you’d have met your goals of the said timeframe.
Consistent Results
Apart from meeting the achieved goals, social media calendar is responsible for positive results you set in your business. Organizing and setting of responsibilities bring the feeling of working in the business sector. At the end of the day, results are yielded since everyone wants to accomplish his/her set goals before time.
It’s Convenient and easy to Operate
The main idea behind Microsoft Excel social media calendar is to turn data into insights. Also, it enhances collaboration in the business as you are able to share what each one of you has, to come up with one perfect organized calendar.
What to Note while Creating a Social Media Calendar that’d Yield Results
Why are social media calendars so important?
As a business, your primary goal is to reach many customers that leads to more sales hence more profit. To make this happen, your social media calendar should?
Be Audited
Everyone dreads this word but you shouldn’t be worried. Social media audits are essential and it yields results to your business.
During the process, you are able to realize the content that is shooting high regarding engagement and which one isn’t. What follows is the measures that increase the performance of the least and how to optimize the whole content.
Tracked on the days you Share content
After creating the calendar, you apparently have planned what you’d be sharing daily or weekly. To ensure there is effectiveness on your content, track what you’ve shared, when and where. Spreadsheets will ideally help you here.
Promoting your content is helpful and this assisted by the spreadsheet. Also, you should add descriptions and text for each post.
Meet your Content Mix
Everyone in social media is sharing their preferred type of content. However, you should be careful to create content on the calendar that is specific to your niche or industry to avoid confusion for your audience.
The Takeaway
With the calendar, you can achieve a lot in your business. This only happens when it well organized and result oriented though. In conclusion, excel social media calendar is integrated to bring together increase productivity and safeguard your business.
by Felicien | Nov 25, 2018 | Education
Understanding your past financial data is essential to forecasting for the future. Without analysing the data, your emotions or your opinion of what you’d like to happen with your business in the future are likely to colour your forecast. One easy way to use your past data to predict your business future is to build a financial prediction using Microsoft Excel.
How to make an economic forecast using Microsoft Excel
1. Select your past sales data in Excel. The first step in creating your financial business forecast is to select the previous sales data that you wish to use. In most cases, you’ll choose the past three to five years. However, if a singular event, like the Stanley Cup Finals or the Winter Olympics being in town, dramatically impacted your sales and is likely to repeat in the future, your forecast will be more accurate if you leave that year (or at least that period) out of the data you use for your projections.
2. Click on Forecast Sheet on the Data tab. The next step is to click on “forecast sheet” located on the tab marked “data”. It’s located at the top of the page on the left side.
3. Enter the required information and hit Create. Next, you’ll need to enter the necessary information, such as the time period you’d like to forecast and, finally, hit create. You’ll have a forecast report projecting the sales and/or income into the period you selected.
How to use your forecast report to make smart business decisions
What can your forecast report be used for? If you know what your sales and income are likely to be for the next quarter or next year, you can make sure that you have the inventory, raw materials, staff and marketing that you need to support that level of sales. You can also use this report to discuss funding with your bank or another lender.
by Felicien | Nov 24, 2018 | Education
Data breaches never fail to stay at the top of news headlines, and these are news headlines that should be highly regarded if you are a business owner. According to the ID Theft Center, there were at least 1,579 breaches, which was a 44.7 percent increase from the year before.
A Look at Early November 2018 Data Breaches
The astounding uptick in data breaches is expected to continue as a trend for 2018, and the first half of November 2018 has already shown multiple problems. Take a look at some of the breaches that have occurred already in November for 2018.
Ontario Cannabis Store/Canada Post
The legalization of cannabis across the country in Canada brought about a lot of prickly, unfamiliar situations for consumers and business owners. However, to worsen matters, their new and booming industry took a hard hit because of a massive data breach during the first part of November. The data breach was in the form of a hacker who managed to get into Canada Post’s delivery tracking tool.
Customers who had purchased cannabis for mail delivery from Ontario’s Cannabis Store had their information exposed. This data risk is considered severe because those in the up-and-coming cannabis business in the country could face concerns with consumers about the privacy of their personal information. This data breach affected as many as 4,500 customers.
HSBC Bank USA
Domestically, a significant data breach with one of the top names in banking left financial institutions and consumers alike a bit fearful. HSBC Bank had multiple customer accounts compromised. To date, the number of accounts compromised and customers affected has not been disclosed. Nevertheless, this has been considered a severe data breach because the data taken can be severely damaging to consumers who hold accounts at the institution.
The risk to related businesses because of this kind of breach is pretty massive. Banking customers place money in their accounts because they trust the institution will keep it secure. This kind of data breach with one of the world largest banks does not fare well in the minds of consumers; it only lessens their overall faith in banking systems as a whole. So far this year, financial institutions have taken a hard hit.
Other Data Breach News Around the Globe for November
Pakistan had an epic fail in November with hackers managing to get the account information of at least 8,000 banking customers. This data breach didn’t just affect one bank; it actually affected customers from ten different banks across the country. The stolen data has already shown up on the Dark Web as records for sale for prices between $100 to $160 per record. So far, the cybercrime division in Pakistan has found more than 11,000 records.
Noteworthy Data Breaches So Far in 2018
The new November 2018 data breaches are added to a growing list of breaches that have already occurred for the year. Facebook was perhaps one of the most publicized data breaches for the year. In April of 2018, at least 87 million records were breached, and it’s most probable that there were far more. Orbitz also had a considerable catastrophe when travel booking accounts were hacked, leaving something like 880,000 customers’ payment cards exposed.
Data Breaches in 2017
Numerous businesses in the past have had problems with data being compromised, especially in 2017. There were at least 16 data breaches for major retailers, according to Business Insider, including Macy’s and Adidas, to name a few. Sears even had a data breach in April that affected at least 100,000 customers who had their credit card information compromised. Restaurants were also hit with data breaches in 2017. Sonic and Panera Bread were two of the most noteworthy.
So far this year, the numbers of data breaches have exceeded those in 2017 by a long shot, which just shows how much of a risk data breaches are continuing to be in spite of considerable efforts to stop them. All business owners should amp up their security efforts and keep a close eye on data, so it is rightly protected.
