Tax Filing Services Strengthening Cybersecurity To Protect Client Data

Summary: As online threats become more sophisticated and grow in volume, tax practitioners and agencies need to go beyond basic cyber hygiene to keep their clients’ sensitive information safe. TTBS enlists tailored cybersecurity solutions for this industry, explaining how each aligns with different business requirements.

With the paperless filing of income tax and GST in India, Chartered Accountants and companies offering tax filing services hold a lot of financial details of their clients in digital format. This wealth of information is commonly stored on local computer networks and within public cloud platforms.

Face-to-face interactions between tax professionals and their clients have reduced after the spread of COVID-19. As they continue to work remotely and handle hundreds of spreadsheets, PAN data, bank details and related forms on their devices, these agents have become the target of cybercriminals who keep mining for information that can be misused or sold to others.

The nature and volume of attacks that target businesses have also evolved over the years. Considering the sensitivity of records, they hold; tax advisory firms need to transcend basic cybersecurity practices to keep data safe. They must deploy robust solutions to prevent all incidents of data breaches, loss of control on networks and system downtime.

Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) understands the gravity of tax management work; that is why we have enterprise-grade cybersecurity measures to safeguard devices, local area network (LAN) and cloud usage for such businesses.

1- Email Security – to make communication more reliable

Emails are the most common sources of cyberthreats. Malicious links, executable files, spyware, viruses, messages soliciting personal details and other harmful content are frequently sent through emails. For tax consultants who receive regular correspondence from businesses and individual clients, it may also be challenging to segregate spam and genuine emails.

TTBS email security secures accounts residing within office servers and those configured on Microsoft Exchange, Office 365 and other platforms. The solution is powered by FirstWave Cloud Technology’s ESPTM email software technology, Cisco-based ESA/IronPort and AMP technologies.

With this level of email security, tax management professionals safeguard their digital messages against threats from cyber thieves trying to snoop on client details. The service also helps them eliminate junk mail from their inbox.

As an intelligent solution to detect online dangers, TTBS email security goes beyond basic protection to counter hidden persistent threats, including spear phishing, whaling, typo domain and spoofing attacks.

Configuring email security on a device takes a matter of minutes and works without affecting the performance of other applications. Users also get analytical reports on the threats encountered by the solution.

2- Endpoint Security – to safeguard the technical heart of businesses

Endpoint devices are linked to business networks via the Internet. They include desktop PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, printers and scanners. For a tax consultancy firm with employees working from remote locations, it is necessary to secure these endpoints for the privacy of internal communication and shared data.

With TTBS endpoint security, users introduce a high level of safety for their devices’ endpoints. The solution protects connected devices and business network from ransomware, malware, spyware and phishing. It has an inbuilt web filter, email filter, antivirus and firewall.

Endpoint security enables tax professionals to connect securely to business network and stay immune to cyber risks. Their data is kept safe, and they avoid downtimes caused by compromises on a device’s operating system.

TTBS endpoint security can be installed without IT expertise and has value for money pricing with a multi-tenant architecture. It works for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

3- Multifactor Authentication – to go beyond basic login credentials

The need for multifactor authentication (MFA) became more acute after the massive deployment of work-from-home models by businesses. Tax firms need to ensure that only their employees access client details and enterprise software used for data management and billing.

TTBS MFA solution comes with zero-trust security to add another layer for system access after entering login credentials. It restricts any malicious attempt to enter a protected online zone even if someone gets an employee’s password.

TTBS MFA is simple to set up and gives organisations the freedom to choose their authentication methods as per underlying workflows. They can monitor the integrity of their managed and unmanaged devices while also deploying custom cybersecurity policies.

This solution makes remote accessing safer without a device agent and has a user-friendly single signon (SSO) for authorised users. It is cost-effective for yearlong usage and easy to scale.

4- Virtual Firewall – to counter hidden digital dangers

Firewalls are familiar cybersecurity components for businesses and self-employed tax experts. However, by using a basic firewall, they miss out on its full breadth of functions and endanger their devices despite paying a monthly rental for the service.

Some enterprises are reluctant to unleash the full potential of a firewall as it may interfere with the usual flow of work and misread even legitimate applications as malicious.

TTBS has addressed such issues with its virtual firewall. Built with advanced threat intelligence, the solution minimises response times against potential online attacks. It streamlines the network setup and keeps users aware of threats that may be largely unknown.

Simultaneously, it ensures that enterprise apps and bona fide third-party software downloaded from trusted distribution services such as Google Play Store and App Store can be used easily.

TTBS virtual firewall offers the advantage of rapid service deployment and blocks malicious threats with deep-packet inspection. It has effortlessly customisable security controls to suit user preferences. The centralised admin portal and flexible subscription packages make it an optimal cybersecurity solution for tax businesses of all sizes.

5- Web Security – to bypass everyday online threats

Chartered Accountants and tax firms connect to the Internet daily and must ensure that even an unintentional click on a malicious web link does not result in a compromise on their device and data security. Basic antivirus software programs are not effective against threats that are becoming more sophisticated every day.

TTBS web security helps eliminate online threats before they touch network endpoints. It determines the intent of different web requests, URLs and files and routes, blocks or sends them for further inspection depending on how safe or threatening they are.

With TTBS web security, a tax firm also gets better visibility of its employees’ online activities across locations – both on and off LAN. The solution enables easy deployment of security policies, delivers comprehensive reports and is non-intrusive to use across devices.

6- Secure Connect – to privatise cloud access for safer resource utilisation

Many tax service providers have transitioned from local device storage practices to cloud platforms for ease of sharing data and updates with their co-workers and clients. However, security concern is its main downside, and it is not difficult for experienced attackers to gain access to files stored on the cloud.

TTBS has addressed this issue through its Secure Connect solution. The solution allows users to privately reach leading cloud services such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, MS Azure, Oracle Cloud Services and IBM Softlayer with MPLS connection.

By deploying Secure Connect, tax firms and independent professionals get an exclusive section on their preferred cloud platform to maintain data safety. It is protected against cyberattacks, and users assured of predictable performance backed by SLAs. The solution has high network redundancy and effortless scalability.

With these solutions, TTBS offers you the technical expertise you need to manage cyber risks and build a trusted and resilient digital infrastructure for your tax advisory business. To know more about our cybersecurity tools, call 1800-266-1800.