Pace University, ACCA USA, to Train Finance Professionals to Stymie Cyberattacks this Summer

NEW YORK, July 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ACCA USA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the global body for professional accountants, and the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University in New York, a National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security-certified Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, today unveiled their first-ever cyberdefense course.

The course—which will be held on August 4 at Pace in Lower Manhattan—will provide professional development credits to accountants and other finance industry professionals. It was designed in the wake of an increasing pattern of cyberattacks that have struck private and public entities here in the United States and abroad.

"ACCA understands the challenges that accountants face and is determined to provide them with the necessary knowledge and training to address these cyber-challenges. Accountants and finance professionals are on the frontlines of this cyberbattle, and need to be armed with the latest information," said Warner Johnston, Head of ACCA USA. "We are proud to collaborate with Pace University on this timely and crucial course, and expect that enrollees will leave better equipped to prevent and address cyberattacks."

"The threat from cybercrime and hackers has only increased over time," said Jonathan Hill, Dean of the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University. "The ACCA has been a particularly adept partner in educating financial professionals and the at-risk accounting and CPA professional communities on coping with these threats. This program is specifically designed for these financial professionals to build awareness and tools to protect themselves, their firms and their clients from the ravages of cybercrime."

The course—Foundations of Cyber Defense for Accounting—will include content on: information security law; effective incident response; risk management, including security metrics; encryption and best practices for protecting data; and, building an insider threat program.

Anyone interested in enrolling should visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/best-practices-in-cybersecurity-for-professional-accountants-tickets-35677991834, or click here. Inquiries can be directed to DJ McErlean-Hopson at [email protected].

ACCA and Pace planned the course amid a troubling global crisis: cybercrime. The financial hit on business can be troubling: An IBM report last year found the cost of a breach rose to $4 million per incident. Earlier this year, Home Depot agreed to pay more than $27 million to financial institutions affected by its 2014 data breach, and court documents reportedly identified the total cost to Home Depot at $179 million.

In February 2016, ACCA reported that cybercrime was growing too dangerous and powerful to ignore, and a head-in-the-sand attitude to this once nascent, now pervasive threat was no longer an option. In the report, "Cybersecurity – Fighting Crime's Enfant Terrible", ACCA and IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) reported that the theft of financial assets through cyber-intrusions was the second largest source of direct loss from cybercrime.

Several months earlier, ACCA issued a report, "Cyberwarriors with Calculators", in partnership with Pace University, revealing that top-level managers in the finance industry are adapting to address cybercrime threats. The survey of ACCA professionals, including Chief Financial Officers, Managing Directors, Senior Vice Presidents and practicing accountants, found weak communication between line managers and senior managers about attacks and attempted attacks, and that the application of fundamental risk management cybersecurity practices should be applied more consistently throughout firms.

In another report, ACCA and Pace also delved more deeply into the growing number of incidents involving skimming devices, which rip off consumers at gas pumps and ATMs. A skimmer is an electronic device used to read and store electronic data. The new research focused on devices that read and recorded data from consumer payment cards, such as ATM, credit, debit, prepaid and electronic gift cards.

SOURCE ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)