Website microcopy helps you connect with your online audience. Clever, funny & honest error pages, tool tips & administrative copy offer a valuable opportunity

Microcopy is an often overlooked chance to show your website visitors that they’re in exactly the right place. The word “microcopy” may sound unfamiliar, but trust us, you’ve seen it often before. So sit back, relax, and use the ideas presented here to bring your business’ website that much closer to perfect.

What is Microcopy?

Microcopy serves as an umbrella term for text like tool tips, error page copy, administrative messages and more. Microcopy is a big part of the UX (user experience) design of your website. When you’re initially setting up your site, some microcopy (like generic error page text, for example) may be solely provided by (or built into) your website building software. Often, once you have your new website up and running, you begin to notice these little bits of text. Effective microcopy can and should:

• Direct the user. A CTA (call to action) is typically needed so that you don’t lose the user’s attention or frustrate them as they navigate through your website. Microcopy on an error page, for example, must work to keep the user from leaving your site. It should provide instructions on how to complete the task they were trying to do when they got the error or how to find the type of content that should have been on the page.
• Apologize. Your microcopy should show empathy and use language that respects the user, rather than wording that could make them feel they are at fault.
• Explain something–apparently. This type of microcopy often appears as tool tips that show what actions various icons/buttons do–what might happen if they’re clicked. Explanatory text can also appear at the end of a TOS (Terms of service) page next to a checkbox, saying something like “I promise I’ve read the fine print.” The grayed-out in each field of a form prompting your visitor to enter specific types of information; name, address, etc. Clarity is crucial here, but you can introduce some creativity and personality to the text as long as instructions remain clear.
• Ease concern when asking for personal info or when asking the user to download something from your site. These microcopy messages often appear as pop-ups, or as text that sits beneath an “email address/Subscribe” field.
• “Stall” the user or set a timeframe for when you will get back to them. This microcopy might be on a loading screen for a video, app or online game, or on an acknowledgment page after the user clicks “Submit” on a form.

More Microcopy Branding Opportunities

The definition of microcopy can extend to things like:

• Email auto-responders that tell the user you’re “on vacation on a small remote island, so don’t expect an immediate response. If the message is urgent, contact So-and-so in the meantime.”
• Calendar pop-up meeting reminders for your staff can also benefit from some attention to their microcopy–internal branding is important too, after all.

Take Ownership of Your Microcopy

If you take the time to compose useful, convincing and intelligent microcopy in place of the standard, you’ll be joining the group of businesses that get every little detail of the customer experience spot-on. That, my friends, is always impressive to clients and website visitors.

Custom, creative and non-generic microcopy has the power to:

• Reassure the user so they will continue toward your goal, such as providing their email address for your list (This is where you might remind the user about your mutual distaste for spam.)
• Provide peace of mind (For instance: “Your info is safe with us. We never share…”)
• Build trust (Use social proof, for example: “Joining a group of 10,000 newsletter subscribers that get our latest recipes every week.”)
• Emphasize value proposition (“Sign up to get FREE offers and significant discounts every month.”)
• Diffuse frustration or disappointment (You could use an amusing image of you or your employees, an illustration and/or use verbal humor to lighten the mood–but don’t sacrifice giving real, precise info.)
• Humanize your brand and send out an approachable, friendly and/or humorous vibe. (“Your password doesn’t match our records. Wanna try that again?”)
• Show you understand your audience (By using terms they might relate to. (Does your audience feel more comfortable with the word “exquisite” or “killer” or “excellent”? Or use wording that establishes what you have in common with your audience, such as, “If you like cooking as much as we do, consider joining our email list for tips.”)
• Express your unique brand voice (Choose words that fit the image you want to project. The proprietor of a country inn would use different wording than the manager of a Hilton Hotel. Your blog most likely reflects your unique brand voice, but you can extend the feeling to your microcopy.)

Inspiration for Your Microcopy

Details such as the microcopy examples shown here offer you the chance to ensure that every ounce of your online brand experience (aka your website or web presence) is tailored to fit your voice and display your style.

You can incorporate microcopy that:

• Reflects recent news, or current memes that are spreading across the Web–just remember to change these often.
• Appears on other sites your users may visit and that have a similar “ambiance” to your website.
• Includes watchwords or trends that your audience is talking about to make your microcopy current and super relevant. “Listen in” to your customers or potential clients in your blog comments or on your social media–and use some of the terms they use to describe your product or service.
• Incorporates photos, illustrations or video — on an error page or loading screen.

Excellent examples of creative and entertaining microcopy:

Error Pages

We’re guilty of a 404″ — TMZ
and this one comes complete with funny photo of Harvey Levin, lawyer, and producer of TMZ

Random Famous Movie Quotes – IMDB

Yikes! This page doesn’t exist! — Icanhazcheezburger

Something broke, or you can’t type! — Magnt

TOS Pages

Very clear, simple language on the right, legal-ese on the left! — Pinterest

Humor + clarity: “Don’t Buy if You Can’t Be in Porn or Join the Army” — Snapterms

Contact Us Form

What does your mom call you? (instead of Name) — Mostly Serious

Getting vital details like microcopy right, using thoughtful language, creates a seamless brand experience for visitors to your website. And writing them can be fun. If you’d like more marketing tips or ideas, contact {company} in {city} at {phone} or {email} today!

With cybercrime rates on the rise, business professionals in every industry are always looking for the right ways to stay protected It seems a new headline is released every week that details the debilitating hacks and attacks that business owners across the country have experienced. 2016 saw many institutions attacked including everything from Wendy’s having customer payment details exposed to high-level government bodies having their systems infiltrated.

There is absolutely no doubt that the evolving technology landscape and the accompanying cyber-threats are changing the way institutions operate. Cyber-security is no longer an afterthought – organizations now know that staying informed and being proactive is the only reliable defense. However, with the constant talk of threats, the shocking headlines and the continual reminders to make sure data is safe, business owners can quickly become overwhelmed. Business owners are busy and focused on driving growth and profitability – when it comes to ensuring internet safety, they need simple and reliable solutions that are easy to implement and monitor.

Annually, since 2012, Safer Internet Day falls on February 9th and serves as a reminder for business professionals to staying informed and secure online. Ever since its inception, the team of IT professionals at {company} use Safer Internet Day as a chance to remind business owners that staying cyber-secure doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. When professionals see cyber security horror stories in the news, the burning questions begin: what if that happens to us? Is our data protected? Are we prepared to bounce back quickly if something did happen? The overwhelming doom and gloom can leave business owners unsure of where to start. But {company} is determined to change the conversation.

We have an underlying mission to empower business owners using technology.  Safer Internet Day is a chance for us to fulfill that mission every year. Technology should always be a tool to drive business growth and should never be a window through which business can be hindered. Businesses can be attacked in so many ways, and we’ve actually seen it all. But there is one thing we believe in strongly: there is no way to keep a business down if they’re prepared. We’re committed to working with businesses of all kinds to assess and secure their technology landscape, and custom-build disaster recovery plans that allow for quick and seamless comebacks.

If you’d like to connect your business-minded audience with more information about how {company} is changing the cyber-security conversation for this year’s Safer Internet Day, and please don’t hesitate to contact us at {phone} or {email}.

Why Software Updates Need Your Attention

If software updates are the bane of your existence, then perhaps it’s time to rethink how you see them. Find out more about why they need your attention, and how they just might save your business.  

Software updates seem to pop up at the worst times, bugging you to pay attention to them when you’re right in the middle of something. Most people have no idea what’s behind them or the urgency of installing them, making it easy to hit the Remind Me Tomorrow button. But you really can’t delay. Here’s why updates (called patches in the IT world) can’t be pushed to the back burner.

The Threat Is Real

Hacking is in the news every week because companies aren’t taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves. And it’s not just for mega-stores like Target either. Almost half of every cyber attack in 2015 was on business with less than 250 workers. These cases often don’t make the news because they fly under the radar — 60% of small firms that are hacked go out of business. While it’s true that even companies like Apple can be infiltrated, many of these attacks are preventable.

What’s the Problem?

Machines are made by people, and so are the codes that dictate what a machine does. There are often vulnerabilities in both your software and hardware that you would never know about until it’s too late. Updates to the software are attempts to work out these bugs and ensure that your valuable information isn’t breached by an opportunistic thief. Many of these threats aren’t exposed until a hacker starts experimenting with different ways to breach the system, so it will always be an ongoing process. Vendors refer to them as patches, and you can think about these updates as a way to plug any holes that may have existed in the programs you’re using.

Handy Tips

Well, one thing is for certain is you can’t ignore the alerts you get concerning your updates. Getting the most out of these patches may mean asking more questions. It also may mean going more modern machinery, considering hackers will exploit wherever and whenever they can. Often the older machines can’t handle the updates or were never designed to be updated in the first place. You’ll need to know exactly who’s sending you patches and who services your machinery. This includes your OS, browsers, business software and any in particular payment systems. The cash registers, terminals and tills need to have the maximum security possible and generally need top priority. Ensure that you understand how, when and where you’re notified about these patches, and always install them as quickly as possible.

Business owners of all kinds need all the help they can get when it comes to managing their technology. The rate of change is astonishing and requires expert skills to navigate. {company} is the trusted choice when it comes to staying ahead of the latest regulatory changes and can provide you with tips, tricks, and news. Contact us at {phone} or send us an email at {email} for more information.

Facebook’s new security dongles offer additional opportunities for users to protect their accounts, though they come with some serious drawbacks.

Social media is no longer merely social. As consumers use online platforms for shopping, networking, and other essential activities, their social media accounts quickly accumulate valuable financial and business data. Protecting these accounts from hackers and thieves is thus just as important as securing your bank information. Facebook’s new security keys provide independent authentication, reducing the risk of compromised social media:

Additional Authentication

Two-factor authentication is a standard tool used by banks, money transfer firms, and other services that deal with sensitive information. It involves linking your account with an email server, mobile device, or other independent platforms. After you enter your username and password, the account will send a message to that platform containing a code. You must enter the code to gain access to the account. Thus even if an attacker figures out your password, they will not be able to log in.

Facebook has long allowed users to set up additional authentication for their accounts. Previously, it relied on smartphones for this function, sending users messages by text or through their Facebook apps. Its new keys expand upon these past security measures, giving users additional opportunities to keep themselves safe.

Dongle Details

Whereas Facebook’s previous authentication method relied on devices that users already owned, it is now providing physical keys, or dongles, to users. The dongles come in two forms: USB and NFC keys. Users can engage the USB keys by connecting them to a laptop and activating them by touch, thus indicating that the device is authorized to access the user’s Facebook account. The NFC keys are compatible with the chips in a variety of Android phones, sending a signal that the phones are authorized for Facebook.

Risks & Rewards

Facebook will still offer authentication through smartphones, but there are a variety of advantages to relying on dongles instead. Not all Facebook users have smartphones, so dongles provide them with another option to shore up security. Even those who do have smartphones may live or frequently go to areas with poor reception, preventing them from attaining the login code in a timely fashion. At only $15 to $20 each, the dongles provide an affordable, convenient way around these problems.

Although dongles are a practical solution to the limitations of phones, they do present some risks and drawbacks of their own. Because they are physical devices, a user can lose them and therefore be locked out of their accounts. Facebook does provide recovery codes, but users who fail to remember these will have trouble regaining access. The NFC keys are also limited to Android phones, a serious barrier for Apple and other users. Dongles only work for desktop and mobile websites that you access through Chrome or Opera browsers; they currently do not provide access to the Facebook app.

{company} provides timely, detailed analyses of the latest IT and cybersecurity trends. For more information on keeping your {city} business safe and up-to-date, contact us at {email} or {phone} today.

Due to the increased connectivity of technologies, as well as the growing number of cyberattacks, cybersecurity is set for unprecedented growth in 2017.

If 2016 taught business leaders and IT experts anything, it was the importance of implementing best practice cybersecurity measures. However, in addition to the growing number of cyber attacks, 2016 also positioned itself as the year before a massive growth within the cyber security sector. As the number of events per second reaches the hundreds of thousands, cyber security is set to scale or expand exponentially.

What Factors Will Contribute To Cybersecurity Growth?
There are some factors that will encourage the cyber security sector to continue to grow. These factors include:

• Increased Connectivity Via IoT — It is suspected that the number of connected devices will exceed the 20 Billion mark by 2020. What does this mean for cyber security? It means that network connections will be regularly tested for weaknesses, as the number of connected devices increases. It also means that industries such as healthcare, energy, retail, and manufacturing must continue to ramp-up their IT security measures to deploy, maintain, and update secure IoT applications. Finally, a more connected state means a drastic increase in the number of sensors, data collectors, and actuators that need to be monitored and authenticated.
• Cloud Utilization Will Expand — Thanks in part to the increased use of agile development lifecycles, the cloud has become home to more workloads that are uploaded, tweaked, left to their own devices, and then haphazardly removed. Security teams must develop the monitoring, auditing, and investigative tools needed to monitor the cloud. Also, security efforts will have to be redoubled for organizations choosing to implement cross-cloud solutions, including hybrid, private, or public cloud operations.
• Digital Transformation Applications — Organizations across industries are using technology to revolutionize how they do business. Whether it is a simple cab-hailing app or a lifesaving medical device that uploads data to the cloud, society is trusting technology to an even greater degree. As trust, and dependency, increase, so too will the need for all-encompassing cyber security solutions.

As seen with the above factors, cyber security is going to become an integral component across a multitude of avenues. The more that cyber security continues to scale, the more diligent organizations will have to become to ensure that they continue to implement best practice approaches to protect their valuable business data and assets. Contact {company} located in {city} via {email} or {phone} to discover how you can leverage a customized approach to cyber security to protect your organization throughout 2017 and beyond.

Productivity technology sets up success for your mobile staff wherever they may roam. Are you providing them with the best tools for productivity on the go?

Your most well-traveled employees take your goods and services out in the field, meet new clients, attend conferences and are the face of your brand at industry events. The Global Business Travel Association reports that business spending on travel has now reached record-breaking levels of over a trillion dollars per year.

Your road warriors need tools and support more than ever before. Have you outfitted them with the best solutions for their needs, or is life on the road an exercise in frustration for them? Traveling salespersons face some challenges and obstacles out in the field. Their most common concerns include:

• Are the files they need on the company server?
• Are they able to access data securely from any location?
• Will communications suffer while on the road?
• Can they collaborate effectively with others even while mobile?

Reliable access to the company server and needed files is non-negotiable for your road warriors. The security of this access shouldn’t be in question even while workers are in the field or remote locations. Secure cloud access can allow for the effective workflow from anywhere an employee has an Internet connection. Company documents stored securely in the cloud enables all employees to proceed with business as usual, whether in-house or at a remote location.

Staying Connected

Losing Internet connection while flying or taking a train can block email access for hours at a time. If a road warrior is traveling during business hours, this can pose a severe productivity problem. Internet connectivity can also be lost even while not en route to the next destination.

Your road warriors should be able to count on tools that will allow them to save documents, email files and presentations on a hard drive even while offline. They can then resume work and upload files as needed when the Internet connection is restored. While offline, they should still be able to continue to access their emails, edit files, compose new drafts – and stay productive.

Secure messaging and video conferencing is also a must so that business travelers can stay connected with team members and clients through both brief messages and online meetings. These technologies help to support and facilitate teamwork, document sharing and collaboration from anywhere, even if some participants are in a different time zone.

Setting the Stage for Success

Of course, maximizing performance for road warriors requires being plugged into what will best improve their ability to collaborate and produce. The challenges of travel and dealing with multiple applications can pose security risks, but there are targeted ways to navigate all of these difficulties.

It begins by actually understanding the challenges faced by your road warriors. From working while traveling to collaborating and hosting meetings, you can help by supplying them with the right applications and technology to support them in meeting every deadline flawlessly.

Road warrior performance will only be as effective as the tech they are given to use along the way. The right productivity technology can help set your mobile staff up for success no matter where they roam. Are you providing your road warriors the essential tools to allow them to succeed while out on the road for you?

{company} of {city} is here to assist you in assessing your current technology components and making important upgrades as needed. Call {phone} to learn more about what’s possible and to set up a consultation. You can also send us an email at {email}.

California lawmakers are working diligently to protect businesses and deter cyber attackers by trying to make ransomware a felony.

California state legislators, administrators, and technology leaders have come together to try to ban ransomware. The recent series of unprecedented attacks on hospitals in Southern California has provided the foundation needed for lawmakers to form their battle cry. The bill, authored by California Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), is designed to make the use of ransomware a felony.

Why Are California Lawmakers Pushing To Make Ransomware A Crime?
Ransomware is a favorite type of malware that is injected into a particular computer or network by a hacker. The hacker then uses the ransomware to hold the data hostage until a certain amount of money, typically in bitcoin, has been paid. Since 2013, Ransomware attacks have grown in popularity. From schools to police departments to healthcare businesses and the latest attacks on Southern California hospitals, ransomware is being unleashed on unsuspecting users to gain real profits.

Supporters of the bill say that it is a necessary step to counter attacks that are currently difficult to prosecute under existing statutes. According to the FBI, U.S. victims lost more than $209 million in ransomware payments during January – March of 2016. During the same 2015 time period, victims only lost $25 million. Unfortunately, the Cyber Investigation Response Team of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has yet to make arrests associated with the half-dozen incidents that the department is investigating. As a co-sponsor of the bill, the Cyber Investigation Response Team of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office believes that more needs to be done to dissuade cyber hackers from using ransomware against California companies.

How Should Companies Respond To A Ransomware Attack?
If a company does suffer from a ransomware attack, the first thing that they should do is contact the local authorities, as well as the FBI. From a legal standpoint, many affected California companies struggle to take the steps needed to target their attackers. At the federal level, prosecutors are able to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to try and focus ransomware. However, state prosecutors are left trying to pursue cases under the laws of extortion, which is quite a challenge. As a result, lawmakers said that the proposed bill would encourage state and federal law enforcement agencies to more actively pursue ransomware investigations to make the extradition of an offender more likely. In short, lawmakers firmly believe that the increased popularity of ransomware attacks provides the evidence needed to modernize existing laws.

In addition to contacting the authorities, any company that has suffered from a ransomware attack should immediately work with their IT security team to mitigate the risks associated with the theft. By identifying the access point for cyber thieves, IT security teams can more readily prevent future attacks. Finally, each ransomware attack offers the opportunity for law enforcement agencies to better understand how cyber attackers are evolving. Through the latter insights, companies and IT security teams can work to educate employees on best practice tactics that could help to prevent a future attack.

The moral of the story is clear, while lawmakers are working diligently to make ransomware a felony in California, companies should continue to remain vigilant against future attacks. Through a customized IT security infrastructure, California businesses can take a stand against ransomware and other cyber security threats. To learn more about how you can protect your company’s most valuable assets, contact {company} located in {city} via {email} or {phone}.

The Microsoft Office Suite has stood as a top program package for several decades. While many of the core software titles have built on the foundation Microsoft started in 1990 (Bill Gates officially announced Microsoft Office in 1988), additional titles are now included. Beyond all the titles and new features, the suite of programs has built-in security, safeguarding information created and saved within Microsoft Office. The Microsoft Office 2016 suite is an excellent collection of programs for small to large businesses alike. Here are the titles included in Office Professional 2016.

Tentpole Programs

Tentpole programs are the most commonly used titles in the Microsoft Office suite. These programs have also been around the longest (often outdating the formation of Microsoft Office itself). These titles are:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• OneNote

Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor. It makes it possible to create documents in traditional text form. There are added templates available in Microsoft Word that do alter creation potential, ranging from book layouts to postage addresses. This is the oldest continually running program in the Office package, with its origin dating back to 1983 (although it was called Multi-Tool Word then).

Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program. While often used for financial reports, this program allows a user to input information into individual cells on a chart. The spreadsheet software permits the creation of complex mathematical formulas, based on what a user needs. This way sums, equations, and other information can be automatically calculated when typing in new data into the cells. Microsoft first released Excel back in 1985.

PowerPoint

This slideshow presentation software is a digital version of old-fashioned film slides. Individual “slides” can house text, visuals, video footage and other information. PowerPoint came out with the initial Microsoft Office release in 1990.

OneNote

OneNote is best used in a collaborative environment. It makes it possible for individuals to input notes (both typed or handwritten), images or other content picked up from the Internet. This way, when researching a subject or when working with different users across a network, it is easier to save all viable information in one location. This title has been around since 2003.

Additional Programs for Office Professional 2016 include:

• Outlook
• Publisher
• Access
• OneDrive
• Skype

Outlook

Outlook is an email service. The desktop application version provides more in-depth features than what the online login option provides.

Publisher

This is a basic level publishing tool designed to be an easy to use Microsoft Publisher for books, pamphlets and other, similar documents.

Access

This is a database management software. It shares many similar features as Excel only it makes it possible to output the information easily to not only Excel but Outlook, Oracle based programs and other third party titles.

OneDrive

This is a cloud-based service, which makes it easier to save information created in the Microsoft Suite to the Internet cloud drive. This way, a user can access the information anywhere there is an Internet connection.

Skype

Skype is an Internet communication service. It provides VoIP features, instant messaging, video calls and other communication options.

Interested in learning more about Microsoft Office 2016 or what suite package is right for you? Give us a call at {phone} or feel free to {email} us at any time to learn more. Our {company} is here to help service you and your business in {city}.

A reliable data backup system is your business’ best defence against data loss. However, not all types of backups are able to protect your business against all kinds of data loss. Many companies believe that just by having an onsite backup in place, they have all of their bases covered. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case.

Onsite backups are an excellent way to keep copies of your important files on hand if your hard drive crashes, or your systems become infected with a virus. Backing up critical data on a daily basis to an onsite system – whether that system is a server or external drives – is smart, and will absolutely benefit your business. But these onsite backups need to be tested regularly to ensure that they are working properly. If not, you may as well not be backing your data up at all.

The biggest challenge for onsite backups is the simple fact that they are physically present in your office. Even if they are updated routinely and kept in perfect working order, onsite backups are vulnerable to all of the same hazards as the rest of your onsite hardware. Water damage due to severe weather or a plumbing issue, fire and smoke damage, or a power surge can quickly render your onsite backups useless. And as with any other piece of hardware, they will eventually fail as their useful lifespan comes to an end.

It’s for these reasons that IT support providers recommend using an offsite backup system in addition to your onsite backup system. A cloud-based or hosted backup can copy your sensitive data to a secure offsite location, protecting it from physical damage. Many of these options can be set to automatically copy your business’ data to a virtual server, ensuring that your backups are consistently up to date. Your IT provider can monitor these backups for you, giving you the peace of mind of knowing that your data is secure, and accessible to you when you need it most.

Both onsite and offsite backups have their own strengths and weaknesses, which is why redundancy is so important. When it comes to your business’ vital data, there is no such thing as being too cautious.

Want to learn more about the steps you can take to protect your business from data loss? Contact us at {email} or {phone}. We’re the IT business professionals in {city}.

Accountants must ensure that their IT infrastructures are SOX compliance if they want to pass the required third-party audit.

Accountants who work with publicly owned companies should be familiar with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). In light of the financial scandals of the late 1990s and early 2000s, this law is designed to ensure that investors have access to the reliable data that they need to make informed financial decisions. In today’s digitally driven world, accountants working with publicly owned companies must ensure that their IT infrastructure is SOX-compliant if they want to avoid hefty fines.

How Does SOX Influence Accounting IT Best Practices?
For accountants working with publicly owned companies, ensuring that their chosen IT infrastructure meets SOX regulations is a must. SOX significantly changes the way that accountants are required to present data to the boards of publicly traded companies. The Act places emphasis on the use of approved IT to assist in the publication and presentation of financial information. Among other components, SOX requires the use of dynamic reporting requirements, including:

• The proper oversight of data;
• Off-balance-sheet transactions;
• Pro-forma figures; and
• Stock transactions of corporate officers.

In short, SOX provides the foundational guidelines needed for the proper use of IT to deliver financial data oversight for publicly owned companies.

What Does It Mean To Be SOX Compliant?
SOX compliance will require accountants to meet a certain number of regulations, including:

• Reporting all numbers to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC);
• Actively working to reduce “corporate scandals,” by reporting the correct financial data to public boards;
• The proper use of IT to avoid “cooking the books” and for use in the justification of stock prices or company worth;
• The creation and proper maintenance of a secure computing system;
• Correct use of privacy protocols within the computing system to securely transfer financial information directly to the accountable parties, such as the company officers; and
• The use of a computing system that meets the requirements of a SOX third-party auditor.

In preparation for a third-party audit, accountants will need to ensure that their IT infrastructure complies with a number of conditions. To begin with, the IT framework must be physically secure, while also using an identity-based security system. The IT structure, or database, must also meet the confidentiality requirements of SOX Article 404. A firewall should also be used to protect the servers and their data from cyber threats. Besides, the server data should be encrypted to mitigate the risks associated with a cyber theft.

Only individuals who have the right credentials should be able to access the financial data. In this vein, there shouldn’t be a weak link that allows a person to access data outside of their clearance level. Also, services should be isolated to ensure that a compromised service can’t successfully compromise another service or component of the IT infrastructure.

The moral of the story is clear, accountants working with publicly owned companies must take the time needed to ensure SOX compliance or suffer the consequences of a SOX violation. If you want to avoid the risk of a failed SOX third-party audit, contact {company} located in {city} via {email} or {phone}. Prepare your IT infrastructure, resolve potential security threats, and remain SOX compliant today.