The rise of cybercrime has led to the increasing need for protecting data from these criminals. Countries all over the world are working incessantly towards finding a lasting solution to cybercrime. In this regard, the EU has enacted a new directive, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which governs member countries on data protection. These regulations also promote privacy for persons in the European Union and address export of data from outside the European Union. The main aim of these regulations is to give power to individuals over their data, thus to ensure the protection of personal data to the extent agreeable to individuals. Adopted in 2016, the deadline for compliance with this regulation is 25th May 2018.
The Statistics
Various organizations dealing with data are hurriedly working to comply. To date, there may be as many as 90% of these organizations that are just not ready. In fact, a majority of these organizations have not put in place the required protocols to ensure the smooth transition into compliance.
What you need to know about GDPR
These regulations apply, basically, to all organizations which have access to the internet and which provide data services to members of the European Union. It also applies to persons and organizations that reside outside the European Union if they collect and process the personal data of those residing within the European Union.
What this means in simple terms is that if someone from a European Union nation visits your website and fills out the contact form, then you must follow these regulations when processing their personal information.
Member States of the European Union are also required, pursuant to these rules to establish an independent supervisory authority, which will be mandated to hear and investigate complaints and to sanction administrative offenses.
In accordance with these regulations, in certain circumstances, data can be lawfully processed. Lawful processing of data occurs when:
An individual has given consent to have their personal data processed for one or more specific reasons.
Processing of data must be done in order to fulfill a contract or in circumstances where the data must be processed before a contract can be entered into.
There is a legal obligation to process the data.
Processing must be carried out in order to protect the interests of a person or entity.
Processing must be carried out in order to protect public interests or the official authority vested in the controller.
Processing is necessary to achieve the fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual, especially a child.
Requirements for compliance
In requiring compliance with the GDPR, large corporations are the main targets. This does not, however, mean that small businesses that deal with and process data can easily get away with non-compliance.
To ensure the implementation of these regulations, rather severe penalties have been adopted. With such significant penalties, businesses should work hard to be in full compliance.
Compliance and business size
The bulk of businesses which will be affected by these regulations are the big corporations that process a great deal of information each day. Though small businesses must also comply, they are not seen as primary targets or at as much risk of having to pay the penalties for non-compliance. Small businesses should not be too comfortable as to wait for the deadline before beginning the process since compliance may be somewhat complicated, especially when it comes to putting in place the necessary protocols for compliance. Though some experts see large organizations more as targets for GDPR watch groups, small businesses can also be fined for non-compliance.
Getting ready
Before one can attempt to comply with these regulations, one must completely understand them. People affected by these regulations are required to understand their scope and particularly, the type of data protected. The data covered includes identity, web, health and genetic info, biometric data, mental, cultural, economic, and social and political identities.
Goal of GDPR
Over the years, and with the advancement in technology, the need for data protection has increased. Cybercriminals are constantly creating new ways of breaching confidentiality and stealing and manipulating data. Affected countries are therefore put to task to ensure that these practices are prevented. This is the goal of the GDPR. Its main purpose is to protect the data of individuals. This need was advanced by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Following the revelations of this group, the need to protect data became much more real. Lack of appropriate measures ensuring cybersecurity can have dire effects to individuals and to nations.
Final thoughts
With the deadline for compliance already passed, it is important that all those affected by these regulations do comply. These regulations are meant to protect individuals, businesses, organization, and even governments from cyber theft and data manipulation. Having considered the penalties for non-compliance, it is imperative that organizations avoid the last minute rush and put in place measures now to ensure their full compliance.
This is the final of a three-part series about using Microsoft Excel 2016. It will cover some of the more advanced topics. If you aren’t great with numbers, don’t worry. Excel does the work for you. With the 2016 version of Excel, Microsoft really upped its game. Excel’s easy one-click access can be customized to provide the functionality you need.
If you haven’t read Part I and Part II of this series, it’s suggested that you do so. The webinar versions can also be found on our site or on YouTube.
This session will discuss the following:
More with Functions and Formulas
Naming Cells and Cell Ranges
Statistical Functions
Lookup and Reference Functions
Text Functions
Documenting and Auditing
Commenting
Auditing Features
Protection
Using Templates
Built-In Templates
Creating and Managing Templates
More With Functions And Formulas
Naming Cells And Cell Ranges
How do you name a cell? You do so by the cell’s coordinates, such as A2 or B3, etc. When you write formulas using Excel’s coordinates and ranges you are “speaking” Excel’s language. However, this can be cumbersome. For example, here G12 is significant because it refers to our Team Sales.
You can teach Excel to speak your language by naming the G12 cell Team Sales. This will have more meaning to you and your teammates. The benefits of naming cells in this fashion are that they are easier to remember, reduce the likelihood of errors, and use absolute references (by default).
To name our G12 cell Team Sales, right-click on the cell, choose Define Name, and type “Team Sales” into the dialog box. You can also add any comments you want here. Then click Ok.
Another way to do this is to click on the G12 cell and go up to the Name Box next to the Formula Bar, then type your name there.
And, there’s a third option at the top of the page called “Define Cells” that you can use.
Notice that there’s an underscore between Team and Sales (Team_Sales). There are some rules around naming cells:
You’re capped at 255 characters.
The names must start with a letter, underscore or a backslash ().
You can only use letters, numbers, underscores or periods.
Strings that are the same as a cell reference, for example B1, or have any of the following single letters (C,c,R,r) cannot be used as names.
How To Name A Range
Highlight an entire range of cells and name your range (we’re doing this in the upper left-hand corner).
Then you can easily use the name to produce the sum you need:
You won’t have to go back and forth from spreadsheet to spreadsheet clicking on specific cells to calculate your formula. You simply key in the name of the cell range you want to add. Just be sure to remember the names as you build your spreadsheets over time.
If you ever make a mistake or want to change names, you can go to Name Manager to do this.
Remember that if you move the cells, the name goes with it.
Statistical Functions
The three statistical functions are:
Average If
Count If
Sum If
The Average If can be used to figure out the average of a range based on certain criteria. Here we’re going calculate the Average If of the ERA of 20+ Game Winners from the spreadsheet we developed in our last session.
We’ve already named some of our cell ranges (wins, era). And we want to know the average greater than 19.
Hit Enter and you have the average.
You can use this feature across a wide variety of scenarios. For example, if you wanted to know the average sales of orders above a certain quantity – or units sold by a particular region, or the average profit by a distinct quarter.
Count If is used for finding answers to questions like, “How many orders did client x place?” “How many sales reps had sales of $1,000 or more this week?” or “How many times have the pitchers of the Philadelphia Phillies won the Cy Young Award?”
As you can imagine, it’s essential that you type in the text exactly the way you named that particular cell.
Hit Enter and you get your answer
Now we’re going to use the Sum If function to calculate the number of strikeouts by the pitchers on this list who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sum If is a good way to perform a number of real-world statistical analyses. For example, total commissions on sales above a certain price, or total bonuses due to reps who met a target goal, or total earnings in a particular quarter year-over-year.
Lookup and Reference Functions
These are designed to ease the finding and referencing of data, especially in large tables. Here, cells A1 and E3 relate to a variable interest rate that is paid on a bank account. For balances under $1,000, the interest rate is 3% – between $1,000 and $10,000, the interest rate is 4%, etc.
Cell A6 shows the balance of a specific account. The Lookup Function is used in B6. It looks up the interest rate and applies it to the account balance of $45,000. This is what the formula looks like in the bar at the top:
The vector form of the Excel Lookup Function can be used with any two arrays of data that have one-to-one matching values. For example, two columns of data, two rows of data, or even a column and a row would work, as long as the Lookup Vector is ordered (alphabetically or numerically), and the two data sets are the same length.
V Lookup and H Lookup are used to pull information into reports. We’re going to use Report Setup. Here, we have a worksheet that references salespeople, sales data, pricing, revenue, and the clients that they sold to. You’ll see on the top right where we set up a report with names referencing sales data.
You can access the sales reps in the drop-down menu. Pick a rep and use the V Lookup Function to find the price.
To Find Price, key in =vlookup and the corresponding cell number for Rep 16, plus the table array which is the entire table not including the header at the top.
Then you need the column index number. This is the number of columns to the right of your lookup value column, which is column A. It’s the 4th column from column A (Price).
Enter 4,
For range lookup we’re using true or false. We are entering false here.
Hit Enter and this is what you have for your Find Price value.
Now we’ll do a similar V Lookup for the Client. Copy and Paste:
Make the necessary changes in your formula:
Client 16 goes with Rep 16.
Note: If you change the Sales Rep, all the corresponding values will change.
If you have a lot of data and long tables, V Lookup helps you find information easily. The V stands for Vertical (or by column), because columns are vertical. H Lookup is for Horizontal-like column headers.
Text Functions
Text Functions contain some very powerful tools to adjust, rearrange and even combine data. These functions are used for worksheets that contain information and function as a database such as mailing lists, product catalogs, or even Cy Young Award Winners.
The first text function we’ll show you is concatenate. It links things together in a chain or series. Here, we have our Cy Young list. But we no longer need to see our Wins and Losses in a separate column.
To do this easily rather than manually, create a new column where your data will reside.
Hit Enter
Now, just go in and hide the Wins and Losses columns. Don’t delete them or your new column will have a reference error.
If you do want to delete the Wins and Losses columns, you must first make a new column. Copy the W-L numbers and Paste Value in the new column. This way you’ve moved from a formula to the new information. If you delete your source information without taking this step you’ll be left with nothing.
Combine as many columns as you need with the concatenate function to make the data appear as you need it to.
The Left Mid and Right Functions
These are used to tell Excel that you only want part of a text string in a particular cell. Here, we have a product list and product IDs that tell us the date of manufacturer, the item number, and the factory where it was made. We’re going to pull the data out so we can put it in columns to use in different ways.
We use the Mid Function here.
This works because each of the product IDs are the same length. If they were different lengths you’d have to do something more creative.
Documenting and Auditing
You want to make your Excel files easy to understand for both yourself and others who need to use them – and this includes auditors. An organized worksheet results in clear error-free data and functions.
Commenting
The purpose of commenting is to provide notes to yourself or especially to others. Comments can include reminders, explanations or suggestions.
You’ll find the New Comment button at the top under the Review Menu. Simply click the cell where you want the comment to go and click New Comment. Then type your comment and click outside the box to close it. The comment will disappear but it’s still there. Anywhere you see a red flag, there’s a comment.
If your name doesn’t appear in the comment, go to File>Options>General and personalize your copy of Excel (in this case Microsoft Office) under the User Name. You won’t need to go back and change each comment; Excel will do this for you.
To format a comment, click inside the comment box and a drop down will come up where you can format the text.
You can change the color of the box and lines around the box. Some managers have different colors for members of their teams.
If you change the default color, it will change that for all your Microsoft products.
To delete a comment, go to the cell that hosts it, then go up and hit delete.
If you have a lot of comments, grab the handle on the box and resize it.
Auditing
What we really mean is formula auditing. This is an advanced way to check your work.
The yellow diamond on the left of this cell indicates that there’s an error.
Or to find any errors, go to Formula Auditing in the top menu.
You have a number of helpful tools here. Trace Precedents shows where the formula looks for information. Click the formula you want and click Trace Precedents. It will display where your data came from.
Here’s a more complex formula and trace auditing:
To hide the arrows, click “Remove Arrows.”
Show Formulas
This expands all of your columns and shows all of them in a bigger way. You can go in and check your formulas on the fly very easily. Click Show Formulas again and the worksheet goes back to the way it was before.
Error Checking
This feature lets you check all formulas at once.
This makes it easy to find errors and correct them.
Evaluate Formula
This feature allows you to check a formula step-by-step. It shows the results of each individual part. It’s another great way to de-bug a formula that isn’t working for you. Click the formula you want to evaluate. Click Evaluate Formula and you’ll get a dialog box.
Click Evaluate and it will change the formula to the actual value that you can review. Each time you click Evaluate, it will take you through the steps of how you got to the final formula. You can trace your way through to see if you made any errors.
Protection
With protection you can lock in your changes in individual cells, spreadsheets, and entire workbooks. You can also protect comments from being moved or edited.
This is how to protect an entire workbook. It’s the highest level of protection.
You’ll want to do this if your workbook contains confidential information like:
Pre-released quarterly results
Employee salary tables
Staff member evaluations
Click File>Info>Protect Workbook>Encrypt with Password.
Enter your password and be sure to make note of it because it can’t be recovered if you lose it. You can use password management software to keep track of your passwords.
Once complete, click OK and your Protect Workbook function turns yellow indicating that you’ve protected your workbook.
To take off protection, retrace your steps.
You can also protect a current sheet you’re working on. It will take you back to your worksheet where you’ll be presented with a variety of options.
You can also protect cells and comments from this option.
In the same way you protected the worksheet, you can protect your workbook.
Using Templates
To see the variety of templates you can use in Excel, click File>New and you’ll be presented with a collection of 25 templates you can choose from.
For example, there’s a great Loan Amortization Schedule you can use. Formulas are built in for you. All you need to do is change the numbers.
You can also go online while inside Excel to find more. You don’t want to download templates from outside Excel because they may contain macros that are contaminated with viruses.
On the right side of the page, you have a huge selection to choose from.
It even provides employee time sheets you can use that can save you so much time trying to figure out formulas.
Creating and Managing Templates
Go to File>Info>Save As and save the template to your location, then save as an Excel Template.
Before you save as a template you want to:
Finalize the look and feel of your template
Use review and auditing tools
Remove unnecessary data and information
Unprotect cells and sheets as appropriate
Create comments as guides
Congratulations! Now you’re an Excel Pro! This completes our Excel Like a Pro Series. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact our Excel 2016 experts.
Accounting, just like every other profession, is affected by our ever-changing world. The increase in technological advances alone can leave your head spinning. Though technology endeavors to make work easier for everyone, it requires your full attention to keep up.
However, technology is responsible for numerous positive changes in every field or industry. An accounting firm can get a lot more done each day with the professional software programs now available. Many boring, repetitive jobs are accomplished with these programs and this allows accounting professionals to utilize their time on more important tasks.
Today’s technology can make it much easier for you to find new employees for your accounting firm, qualified personnel who have already been vetted. Most of today’s accounting firms have embraced the changes that are occurring in our technology-driven world. And yet, many are undergoing dramatic changes that affect their business from various angles.
From cyber threats to rising costs, the accounting industry is facing its share of tough problems. Savvy business owners overcome these challenges and move forward. They turn these problems into stepping stones that lead to new opportunities. Still, these issues can slow down the workflow and require too much attention. The struggle can be tiresome and never-ending.
Below are our top five tough problems that accounting firms face today.
1)Retiring Baby Boomers
Each year, approximately 4 million baby boomers retire. This trend is expected to continue for the next 19 years. These people represent years of training and experience. Every industry is being affected by this, including accounting. As CPA firms across the country lose these knowledgeable employees, they reach out to secure the top talent available. But this trend has created a very competitive environment where an accounting firm must be able to offer more to get those well-trained college graduates. This problem reaches across all industries today and as noted above, it will continue on for another two decades. CPA firms are trying to balance their need for the best employees with budgetary restrictions.
2)Winning the Talent War
While winning the talent war is no easy battle, there are a few options that accounting firms can employ. One of the suggestions that has worked for many firms involves enhancing your company’s brand. Highly skilled workers want to be associated with a good company that has an outstanding reputation. As accounting firms are struggling to get the best talent available, they’re realizing how important their brand is. There are numerous ways to elevate your brand and in some cases, it will benefit accountants to hire consultants who specialize in this area.
Below, are just a few ways to improve your reputation and attract those talented college graduates you need to move your business to the next level:
Get your CPA firm involved in community activities. For instance, volunteer once a month at a soup kitchen, children’s hospital, or orphanage. Nothing speaks louder than a group of professionals willing to give their time and talents to help the poor and needy.
Improve your culture. Many companies have greatly benefited by improving their company culture. That’s the secret behind the huge successes of Google, Microsoft, and Disney. Employees love where they work. They’re proud to say they work there.
Create High-Profile Events. This can be as simple or complex as you like. Some business owners write a book and then create book-signing events on a regular basis. Others do webinars each month. For instance, in the accounting field, you could create a webinar each month to show business owners how to save on taxes.
Post Good Photos of Events. Now that your company is involved in volunteering, in conferences, webinars, and other events like this, be sure to take good photos. Post them online regularly so the public can see what your company is up to.
3)Pressure to Reduce Prices
One of the first things that companies think of when faced with an increase in their expenses is to simply go up on the cost of their services. As all accountants know, the budget has to work out so that it fits within a reasonable margin. Now that you’re having to hire new talent, fresh out of college, where will the money come from to pay those salaries? At the same time, new accounting firms are popping up all over the place offering lower prices than yours. Increased competition almost always drives prices down.
One of the most successful strategies that companies have used involves making your Brand more valuable. Of course, there are multiple ways to accomplish this. Get connected to industry specialists who already have good public visibility. Work at getting selected for local radio or TV programs where you talk about any number of accounting-related topics. As you boost your visibility in the marketplace, you set yourself up to command higher billing rates.
4)Stand Out
In this day and age, people tend to lump all accounting firms (legal firms, etc.) together. But, you’ve worked your whole life to set your business apart from the others. This means that you may have to work consistently at making your differentiators well known in your community. Why are your services worth more? Why is your accounting firm the best one to work at? These are all questions you should immediately know the answers to.
5)Advancing Technology
The last and perhaps most important challenge that accounting firms face is the constant need to update their technology. You want to have the latest and greatest software programs and network services, but all this can be expensive. To make matters worse, technology is constantly evolving. Today’s smartphones contain advanced features you couldn’t get a year ago.
For many small businesses, the best way to alleviate this concern is to find a great managed IT service provider and allow them to handle the technical aspects of your accounting firm. Make sure your contract with them includes regular updates to the latest network and computer technology. This can cut your overall costs and give you the same technology solutions as an accounting firm twice your size.
Communication is definitely made more accessible as a result of technology. Unlike previous years where people placed heavy reliance on letters and messengers, currently, people can communicate at the tap of a button. Communication is essential in any business. For people to know what is required of them in the business environment, for suppliers to know the exact quantity of products that they are required to supply, and when the supply is necessary, people need to communicate. The most successful businesses place considerable reliance on communication.
Small businesses and especially, those that have just begun, often feel the need to use more affordable means of communication. With the availability of the internet, this is no longer a problem. The number of computers that a business purchases is directly influenced by the size and the income of the business. In this regard, therefore, small businesses may find themselves unable to purchase as many computers as they need. This is where smartphones come in.
Currently, almost everyone in the world owns a smartphone. Smartphones have made life more comfortable. They allow people to access information everywhere and at any time due to their portability. These devices are a gem to small businesses. First of all, almost every owner and employee in small companies own smartphones. People can access their emails when traveling or out working on a job.
For successful and efficient use of smartphones to access emails, small businesses must depend on reliable, practical, and affordable email applications. There are numerous applications which allow people to access their emails through mobile phones. The functionality of these applications is similar though they may provide different features. Depending on the smartphone used and the needs of the small business, smartphone users, and especially those who use iPhones, often develop preferences to specific apps over others.
Google
This is definitely one of the most used applications. Google provides a range of services that small businesses may find attractive. The google app allowing for access to emails called Gmail. Firstly, this app is easy to use. Gmail can be used by even novices without much training. Secondly, it is fast, compared to other apps. A particularly helpful feature of the Google email service is that if you send an email by mistake, you have the option of undoing send. This definitely saves businesses embarrassment if an incorrect email is sent by mistake. The Google application is available online at the Apple store and can be downloaded free of charge.
Microsoft Outlook
This application is particularly loved by iOS users. While allowing the user to access email at his or her convenience, this app enables immediate access to emails from frequent contacts without subjecting the user to looking through other unimportant emails. It sorts out these emails for you. The app allows users access to their calendar, enabling them to mark essential days and reminders. You can set up meetings right from your phone or even attend a meeting. Like the Google app, this app is available in the Apple App store.
Airmail
Though initially meant for Mac, this app is available for iPhone and iPad users. It integrates with Gmail, MS Exchange, IMAP, Yahoo!, AOL, Live.com, and Outlook. This app has exciting features including full inbox sync, interactive push notification, and snooze. It is an Apple Design Award winner.
Spark
Though not as popular as Google, Spark is a great email app for small businesses. This app group emails automatically thus enabling the user to identify the urgent emails immediately. The app is easy to use and faster than most email apps. This app may be downloaded from the App Store.
Edison Mail
This is one of the fastest email apps. It supports most email accounts including Yahoo and Hotmail and is available free in the App Store.
Triage
The primary purpose of this app is to clean up email clutter thus simplifying the process of emailing. You can download this vital app from the App Store.
Inky
Unlike other email apps, this app uses hashtags to organize emails and sort out the important ones from the less important ones. Basically, it applies hashtags as labels to messages. It also signs emails automatically. Get this efficient app from the App Store.
Zero
This app works similarly as Tinder. It allows you to sort out your emails easily by merely swiping right to keep them and left to delete them. It also sorts emails such as newsletters for you. This app is available for free in the App Store.
Newton
This app is available in the App Store. Unlike other services, it is not free but is subscription based. Its main feature is the send later which allows you to draft emails and send them to the recipient later on. It costs $50.
Astro
Controlled by an AI assistant, this app provides both email and calendar services. The Astro assistant can be asked questions and responds to numerous commands. If your business uses Slack, you can integrate with that program to send and share Slack messages. It is available free from App Store.
Cybercriminals are getting more fearless by the day and their crimes are getting more and more sophisticated. Cybercrimes are costing businesses and organizations billions of dollars each year. This has spawned a new generation of cybercrime fighters who search for ways to end this threat once and for all. With each new attack, the crimes get more sophisticated. Hackers are learning from their mistakes and tweaking their methods to make them even more effective.
While most attempts to end hacking seem futile, it is an industry that will continue to require experts in managed threat detection. Stopping thieves before they can get into your database is the preferred method and this has now become possible. The latest technology can assess your network’s weaknesses and your IT professional can recommend various ways to shut down those weak areas.
Why the rise in popularity of managed threat detection?
Investments in technologies that prevent cybercrimes are currently on the rise. There are now a number of solutions that prevent intrusion into your computers. But many companies feel they just don’t have the money to install the latest threat detection equipment. Though there is an initial expense involved, business owners with these new threat detection systems do enjoy greater peace of mind. One cyber-attack is now estimated to cost approximately $1.3 million on average. In addition, customer trust is eroded once the public learns of the breach and overall sales can go down. The expenses for a breach can often linger for years.
What is Managed Detection and Response?
MDR is a combination of technologies and skills that provide global threat intelligence, deep threat analytics, and earlier incident mitigation. The most effective response to a breach requires a collaborative, far-reaching effort.
Managed Detection and Response works well because it is set up to function every minute of every day. It provides more thorough protection from the viruses, worms, ransomware, and malware that exist on the World Wide Web.
MDR is commonly used together with traditional managed security services (MSS) to ensure complete protection. These services can be provided by specialized vendors who focus mainly on threat management. They can also be provided by specialists who have MDR capabilities. Managed detection is chiefly distinguished by the fact that it works even in circumstances where the traditional methods of protection, which are focused on limited log collection and rules-based analysis, do not work.
How is MDR delivered?
Today, businesses will find a few cybersecurity experts who understand the ever-changing landscape in the world of cybercrime. Thieves utilize a number of methods that evolve with each new attack. The only truly effective response to these attacks is to develop a system of crushing cyber-attacks that also evolves with each new event.
New technology focuses on a series of effective approaches to threat detection and elimination. The initial step is known as threat anticipation, which measures the level of a company’s preparedness. This determines how high a company’s chances are of being targeted by cyber thieves. MDR also includes threat hunting. Instead of waiting for an event to occur, this technology actively hunts for threats and eliminates them.
Third, security monitoring is essential. This service is basically exactly what it says. A system is put in place that constantly monitors all hardware, software, and networking equipment, looking for loopholes that thieves might exploit. Security monitoring should include alert response, incident response, and breach management.
Why is Managed Detection and Response popular?
For most business owners, there just isn’t time each day to worry about cyber breaches and data leaks. Though the costs to address them can be enormous, a business person needs to focus on running his company. Your business can suffer if you must constantly be pulled away to address potential security threats. That’s the major reason why business owners are opting for a greater level of protection for all their computers and networking equipment.
Threat detection and prevention is a full-time job and most business people just don’t have the time or skills to deal with it. Your company needs the finest protection available so you can get back to work without the stress of knowing that a breach could occur at any moment.
MDR service providers are able to collect data from various sources on the threats that your organization may face. This enables them to know exactly which threats are more pronounced. Once an organization knows where their weaknesses lie, they are in a better position to respond, repair those flaws, and move forward with more confidence.
Of course, a good managed detection and response program should also include all the measures to respond should a breach occur. In spite of all the advances in technology, if just one of your employees clicks on a malicious link, they could download ransomware or other harmful malware into your system. You can mitigate the damage though, by knowing exactly what to do.
Final Thoughts
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is designed to handle anything that cyber-thieves can throw at you. It initially seeks to find and close any weaknesses, but it also includes a sound response plan should a breach occur. It utilizes today’s best detection tools, threat intelligence, forensic investigation tools, and human analysts. It can give business owners the peace of mind they need to get back to running their companies without the constant worry of an expensive data breach.
