Cyber Security Concerns and Solutions for a Small Accounting Company

This report covers some of the security concern faced by a small accounting company JL. The company was established initially with only few employees but with the use of digital services they have expanded their services and employees. The company has expanded its services on online platform which in turn have increased the possibilities of security breaches. In this report, some of the security threats are identified that are faced by JL and then steps are designed so that security breach could be resolved.

Computer security
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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Cyber security problem that need to be addressed immediately in JL..................................................2
Solutions to address the issue...............................................................................................................4
Assessment of chosen solution and the alternative solution................................................................6
Overall security cost needed to address security issue.........................................................................7
Recommendation..................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................9
References...........................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
This report covers some of the security concern faced by a small accounting
company JL. The company was established initially with only few employees but with the
use of digital services they have expanded their services and employees. The company has
expanded its services on online platform which in turn have increased the possibilities of
security breaches. It is important to address some of the security breaches so that it couldn’t
penetrate in the system. In this report, some of the security threats are identified that are
faced by JL and then steps are designed so that security breach could be resolved. Some of
the solutions are suggested to improve data security and then it is compared with other
solutions so that best strategy could be selected (Hammargren, 2014). The present state of JL
in terms of cyber security is quiet weak. Thus, it is required to improve the current situation.
From the analyses, it was found that JL as a poor security measures as laptops do not have
updated software’s that increases the chances of viruses and bugs. The spam messages
received are very high thus this is due to poor security control. The passwords are shared
between employees that increase the chances of cyber-attacks. Thus, in this report some of
the policies are designed so that resources rate used in a best possible way and security
behaviours are improved.
Cyber security problem that need to be addressed immediately in JL
In JL, there are various issues that need to be addressed some of the concerns are listed
below:
 Poor passwords- While analysing the present situation, it was found that security
regards passwords were poor. As the right to access was not defined correctly and
passwords were shared between employees easily. Thus, it is recommended to have

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strong passwords that are hard to crack (Hills & Batchelor, 2015). Due to poor
passwords some of the business files of JL were leaked, thus it is recommended to
maintain confidentiality and integrity by keeping the passwords safe. The passwords
should be strong and should be changed on regular basis (Atgiller, 2015). .
 Ransomware attack- It is a virus that spreads from one computer to other easily. The
sensitive and confidential information is spread over the network. It is a cyber-threat
that sometimes prevent user to access the information and then ask money to release
the file (Robinson, Jones & Janicke, 2015). It is a common issue faced by small
organisations. They are unaware about the attacks that are new in the market
(Hammargren, 2014). Hackers corrupt the files and then ask for crypto currency in
return for realising the files. Phishing attack- This is attack that is processed so that all the sensitive data is read
like passwords, username and credit or debit card details. It is a spam attack that is
introduced in the system by the source of emails. If the email is accessed by the user
then viruses enter the system and penetrate which increases the chances of
information getting leaked(Abawajy, 2014) . All the accounting and other
information related to the company is stored on online platforms (Hills & Batchelor,
2015). Thus, it is important to secure the data so that information doesn’t get leaked. Patch monitoring- There should be proper software that keeps track for the security
concern in an organisation. The present scenario of JL states that there is no security
software’s installed in the system. The poor patch management increases the chances
of attack and vulnerability in the system (Korpela, 2015). The patch can be
controlled by keeping the system updated or installing anti-virus software so that
vulnerabilities do not penetrate deep into the system (Creative technolgy, 2015).

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 Authentication- The security concerns can be improved by maintaining
authentication and making sure that only valid users are able to access the sensitive
information. In case of JL, all the users are allowed to access others information.
Thus, a proper access control list should be designed so that only valid users can
modify or read the data (Korpela, 2015). It is an accounting firm thus it is important
to keep the data confidential.
Solutions to address the issue
Some of the steps that should be taken by an organisation to secure the system are:
 One of the security solutions that should be adopted by JL is keeping a backup of
data packets (Itpro, 2015). Backing up of data is useful as if data gets lost it could be
recovered easily. It is an easy and cost effective technique as it builds trust among
customers.
 Cryptography is one of the security tools that hide the meaning of file by encrypting
the text that is not in a human readable form (Alotaibi, Furnell, Stengel & Papadaki,
2016). In case of JL, all the accounting related data should be encrypted so that even
if the data is leaked the information is not accessed by the user (Itpro, 2015).
 The devices and software should be certified so that system remains protected from
all the viruses and malwares. It makes sure that viruses do not penetrate in the
system.
 The information should be monitored at regularly interval of time so that it is not
leaked. System should be checked internally as well as externally so that no viruses
penetrate in the system (Thornton, 2015).

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 The system software’s should be updated so that no infections hit the system. The
updated software’s protect the system from all the internal as well as external bugs.
 The overall risk can be reduced by installing firewalls, anti-viruses in the system so
that information could be protected (Jajodia, Shakarian, Subrahmanian, Swarup &
Wang, 2015).
 It was found that employees of JL use to receive approximately 40 spam messages
daily, this can be resolved by using spam filter. It reduces the chances of cyber
security attack and fraud emails (Dobson, , Rege & Carley, 2018).
 An access control list should be designed that allow only valid user to access the
information (Jajodia, Shakarian, Subrahmanian, Swarup & Wang, 2015).
 While analysing the present situation in JL, it was found that passwords are not
strong thus passwords should be designed in such a way that they are not hacked
easily (Colarik & Janczewski, 2015). The security can be improved by choosing
strong passwords and keeping it confidential. It is also suggested that passwords
should be changed at regular interval of time (Elder, Levis & Yousefi, 2015).
 The organisation should also have training sessions so that they remain aware about
the security attacks that are penetrating in the market.
 The hardware devices should be encrypted so that all the hardware related thefts
could be eliminated (Dobson, Rege & Carley, 2018). The devices should be secure
so that no bugs can hit the system.
 In the research it was found that JL do not make use of any antivirus’s software.
Thus, it is recommended that an organisation should have antivirus’s software so that
it remains protected from all the threats and vulnerabilities (Alotaibi, Furnell, Stengel
& Papadaki, 2016). Antiviruses are the barriers that stop viruses to enter in the
system.

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 Recovery software’s should be used so that data breach does not occur. It is a best
way as it helps in recovering the data at time of data loss.
 The security can be maintained by defining an access control list that make sure that
only valid users are allowed to access the information. It does not allow any
unauthorised user to make any changes or modify the data.
 The software should be downloaded from an authorised source so that right privilege
is gained. It assures that correct approval is granted to people (Elder, Levis &
Yousefi, 2015).
 The other way is offering training sessions so that precautions are taken beforehand.
 A communication channels should be secured so that communication take place in a
secure way (Elder, Levis & Yousefi, 2015). It is suggested that network should make
use virtual private networks that make sure that messages are transmitted from valid
user to authenticated user (Colarik & Janczewski, 2015).
 One of the important security tools that can be used is intrusion prevention system. It
is ways that do not allow unauthorised users to access the system. On the other hand,
it also finds the bugs and removes it for entering into the system (Yunos, Hamid &
Ahmad, 2016).
Assessment of chosen solution and the alternative solution
The solution that is suggested to improve data security is encryption and
cryptography. It is a way in which data is decoded in a form that is not readable by human. It
is a best way as even if the data is leaked it is not read by the humans. Thus, it makes sure
that data remains confidential and it is not accessed by any unauthorised means. Encryption
is a best way when compared to other technology. It also maintains the integrity of
information by making sure that encrypted and sensitive data of an organisation is not

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leaked. This technology also maintains privacy of data as it makes sure that data is read only
by the valid and authorised users (Arachchilage & Love, 2014). It is a best way as it protects
the data by making sure it is accessed by valid user. It is an improved technology as it
maintains integrity, confidentiality and availability of data. As it is seen that ransom ware
attacks are increasing and in return they demand for money (Yunos, Hamid & Ahmad,
2016). Thus, if data is encrypted even they will not be able to access the data. Encrypting
technology is one of the best methods to protect the data that is stored on online means
(Dobson, Rege & Carley, 2018). The data is decoded into cipher text that can be safely
transferred from one location to another without the fear to information leakage. In case of
JL, it stores all the accounting related data which should not be leaked. Thus encryption or
cryptography is a best technology that makes data thefts a difficult task and reduces the
chances of attacks (Arachchilage & Love, 2014).
Overall security cost needed to address security issue
There are various security issues that need to be addressed; this section covers the
breakdown of cost that would be needed by an organisation to address all the security
concern. It was found that approx. 1200 dollar are needed to just keep the system updates
and install all the security software in the system. The antiviruses that are used by an
organisation also cost around 30-70 dollar (Dobson, Rege & Carley, 2018). The cost of
encryption depends upon the size and type of data. The other cost factor that should be
included covers the hosting fees that will be needed to for bandwidth, SSL, domain renewals
infrastructure and software licence. Apart from that to maintain the security it is important to
have UI/UX update that is also included in the cost needed to address security issue. The
maintenance cost is also needed that covers the periodic updates and security patches needed
to improve security.

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Recommendation
From the analyses, it is recommended that to overcome the security issue JL need to
adapt to some steps so that security concerns could be resolved. It is suggested that all the
software’s that are used by the company should be updated, which reduces the chances of
security concern. It is recommended that firewalls should be downloaded as it blocks the
path of firewalls to enter the system. The username and password should be strong and
should be kept protected so that information is not leaked. The number of spam messages
are quiet high in case of JL, thus spam filters should be used so that this issue could be
resolved. Apart from that various, policies and procedures are designed so that security
could be maintained. The steps are taken to make sure that integrity, confidentiality and
availability is met.

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Conclusion
In this report, the present situation of JL is understood in terms of security. It was
found that there are various shortcomings faced by the company in terms of authentication
and security software’s. Security attacks are rising in today’s era attackers try to read the
sensitive documents of various organisations this has led to development of unique security
measures. The accounting information that is stored on the network has high chances of
getting leaked. Thus, it is vital to safeguard the information from unauthorized access so that
data is secure. It can be concluded from this research that cyber security allows the business
to increase their efficiency by storing their information online.

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References
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