Cyber risks of working from home (in light of COVID-19) and how to mitigate them

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. Many firms permit staff to work from home or at least work while on the road. but the number of remote users may increase in the wake of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Consequently, it’s crucial not to allow the precautions designed to protect the physical health of your […]
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jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Coronavirus, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, email risk management, insurance, professional liability claims, social engineering, Uncategorized, working from home
Apr, 06, 2020
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Section 7216 – requesting client permissions

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb We would recently approached by a policyholder about affirmative consent requirements imposed by IRS regulations under Internal Revenue Code section 7216. Under the code, a tax return preparer is subject to criminal penalties under section 7216 if the preparer “knowingly or recklessly” discloses or uses tax return information. A […]
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jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, Client permission, Data protection, engagement letters, IRS cyber rules, Uncategorized
Mar, 06, 2020
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Police Warn of New ‘Line-Trapping Technology’ Being Used to Scam People Over the Phone

A new piece of sophisticated technology is being used by fraudsters to scam unsuspecting people over the phone. Police said a woman in the New York Region received a call earlier this month and was told by the scammers she had been a victim of identity theft. Police said the woman was directed to call […]
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jorgcpa
- Posted in Client relations, coverage limitations, criminal behaviour, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, due diligence, email risk management, Fraud, Fraudulent Wire Transfers, Phishing scams, policy coverage, policy wording, social engineering
Jan, 13, 2020
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Security Policy for CPA firms – a template

We have received several enquiries from members of the CPAGold™ program for help with a suggested wording for a Cyber Security Policy as required by the IRS rules. As you will be aware, there is a lot of information available about this topic. One of the best white papers is Small Business Information Security: The […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, email risk management, IRS cyber rules, Phishing scams, Privacy, risk management, security, Security policy, social engineering, social media, Uncategorized
Jan, 13, 2020
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The future of privacy starts in California

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb You may recall the recent blog postings in connection with the CCPA in California: http://cpagold.com/2018/11/consent-armageddon-is-coming/ http://cpagold.com/2018/11/are-new-statutory-claims-covered-by-your-cyber-policy/ http://cpagold.com/2018/11/california-privacy-laws-gdpr-ii/ The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ["CCPA"] is effective Jan. 1, 2019 will give Golden State residents the right to find out what a company knows about them and get it […]
- Posted by
Rickard Jorgensen
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Accountants' risk management, CCPA, Client records, Client relations, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, file documentation, GCPR, Privacy, Uncategorized
Nov, 05, 2019
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Equifax breach settlement

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. You may recall that in September 2017 we reported on the data breach suffered by the national credit reporting agency. Go here for the article. According to Reuters — Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. will pay up to $700 million to settle U.S. federal and state probes into a […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, data breach, Data protection, equifax, Phishing scams, professional liability claims, risk management, security, Uncategorized
Jul, 22, 2019
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A cyber coverage “Fire Drill” – professional liability insurance implications of the CCH Axcess (Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting) malware attack.

By Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb Last Monday we received a flurry of frantic phone calls from clients about the denial of access to the CCH Axcess program. On Monday May 6, between the hours of 8-10 a.m. E.T., accountants across the country started realizing their CCH products, which are based in the cloud, were […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in CCH Axcess, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, Data protection, Fraud, Phishing scams, security, Tax Services, Third party exposure, Uncategorized
May, 13, 2019
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Data Breach and Insider Trading

CPAs practicing in mergers and acquisitions are familiar with the sensitive nature of their work and the potential for abuse of the information obtained. In addition to the conflict of interest created by trading on that information themselves, they must take extensive precautions to ensure that they do not allow that information to slip to […]
- Posted by
Rickard Jorgensen
- Posted in Accountants' professional liability insurance, Client records, Client relations, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, Data protection, Fraudulent Wire Transfers, policy coverage, risk management, security, Uncategorized
Mar, 11, 2019
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Fraudulent Wire Transfers – the latest word

by Rickard Jorgensen, FCII, ARM, ACIArb. In the past few years we have seen quite a few of these costly and tragic situations and paid a number of claims made against our CPA firm and investment professionals clients. The essence is that a CPA or adviser (or Trustee) is induced by a trick, artifice or […]
- Posted by
Rickard Jorgensen
- Posted in coverage limitations, Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, Data protection, Fraud, Fraudulent Wire Transfers, Phishing scams, social engineering, Uncategorized
Feb, 08, 2019
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How To Protect Your Accounting Firm From a Cyber Attack

By Nick Matarazzo A data breach can wreak havoc on your business and its reputation. Not to mention the fines incurred and countless hours you will spend reviewing your computers and the source of the threat. Research suggests that 90% of cyber attacks stem from a phishing or social engineering attack. Educate your employees about […]
- Posted by
jorgcpa
- Posted in Cyber Liability, Cyber resources, Cyber risk management, Data protection, policy coverage, policy wording, risk management, security, sextortion, social engineering, social media, Uncategorized
Dec, 14, 2018
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