When thinking of cyber risks, most accounting firm leaders think about threats from hackers. But the threats that are most likely to affect the firm are also the ones that the firm has the most power to prevent.
In its annual review of cyber liability trends and losses among public accounting firms, CPA Mutual reports an increasing risk of liability from within firms.
Incidents involving negligent or careless employees or contractors are increasing, and are still considered the biggest threat to accounting firm data security in addition to leader concerns over hacking, notes Bill Thompson, CPA, RPLU, President of CPA Mutual. Since offering cyber coverage, CPA Mutual members have experienced 26 cyber losses. On average, these losses have cost just under $30,000 with the most expensive claim to date coming in at $250,000.
Incidents involving employee action or error comprised nearly 100 percent of those incidents. “In other words, nearly all were preventable,” Thompson says.
This data mirrors an April 2018 report from the Ponemon Institute and ObserveIT, showing that incidents involving negligent employees…
