{"id":9054,"date":"2023-02-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=9054"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T16:42:12","slug":"the-hidden-cyber-risks-of-siloed-financial-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/the-hidden-cyber-risks-of-siloed-financial-data\/","title":{"rendered":"The hidden cyber risks of siloed financial data"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe hidden cyber risks of siloed financial data\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tTeresa Meek<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

If you are a CFO or part of a finance team, you may be at the center of an increasingly complicated threat landscape. Information you are responsible for is too often stored in unconnected databases, hard drives, and software applications, which teams export into spreadsheets and send across the organization as email attachments. Each data transfer and hand-off introduces a new set of risks\u2014at a time when cyberattacks are rapidly increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data compromises rose more than 68% in 2021, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center<\/a>. Breaches are also getting more expensive. The average cost of a breach rose 10% to $3.6 million last year, the IBM\/Ponemon Institute\u2019s 2021 Cost of a Data Breach<\/a> survey found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Foundry\u2019s 2021 Digital Business study<\/a>, over a third of business and IT leaders cited improving security as a top strategic objective, and 58% said security had taken on greater importance as a result of the pandemic, when many companies switched to remote operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how can you do a better job of securing sensitive financial data?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Managing modern finance in a time of unprecedented change.<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Modern business requires speed and agility, starting with the finance and accounting systems
that underpin every facet of operations.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"people\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bogged down by manual procedures?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to financial data, many security and compliance issues stem from the use of outdated, highly manual business processes that include sharing financial data through spreadsheets and emails. Just having access to financial data and processes can make you an especially attractive target for cyberthieves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With manual processes and locally stored spreadsheets, you may send sensitive data to those who shouldn\u2019t see it or post it on internal messaging platforms that don\u2019t meet compliance rules. You may also share it with vendors and contractors, taking it out of your company\u2019s control. Every new instance of data sharing opens the door to a potential breach. \u201cWhen information changes hands, you don\u2019t know who\u2019s accessing it or who\u2019s changing it,\u201d explains Scott Freedman, Director of Marketing for Sage Intacct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find safety in the cloud<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consolidating financial information on a cloud-native platform creates a single source of truth, substantially reducing these types of risks. Cloud-native applications are built with granular controls for compliance and access. This allows you to provide different levels of information to stakeholders, via personalized dashboards that display all the information they need to do their jobs, but nothing more, building in a new level of safety for your data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all cloud-based applications provide the same level of safety precautions. Because security is critical, it\u2019s important to determine whether a solution meets your specific needs. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n