Is your QuickBooks secure in the cloud? Four hosting companies ransomwared

August 1, 2019 / 54:14/E100

Blake and David celebrate their 100th episode of The Cloud Accounting Podcast with guest Rachel Fisch by discussing the ongoing iNSYNQ ransomware debacle, the challenges of using AI to perform audits, where to find top accounting talent, how OnDeck aims to become a bank, and even more of the latest news in the accounting and bookkeeping world.

Show Notes

02:23 – Blake and David recap the ongoing iNSYNQ ransomware debacle
03:07 – Official iNSYNQ ransomware update (https://www.insynq.com/support/#status)
04:00 – iNSYNQ feedback from unhappy Tweeters
05:12 – Homeland Security's October 2018 warning about possible ransomware attacks (https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/dhs-warning-msps-csps/)
06:18 – Tweeting with iNSYNQ CEO Elliot Luchansky on 7/23 before he backed out of the interview (https://twitter.com/BlakeTOliver/status/1153550898435485696?s=20)
08:21 – Get a clue - You can't control the conversation
08:59 – Should Intuit do more to protect customer data? (http://www.intuithostingprogram.com/authorized_hosts.php)
11:01 – From the Intuit Hosting Program FAQs - "The Commercial and Standard Hosts who participate in the program are solely responsible for the security, privacy, availability and backup of QuickBooks data files and the software that they host, in accordance with their end user hosting service agreements" (http://www.intuithostingprogram.com/faqs.php)
12:40 – Meanwhile, on Apps.com, out of 650 apps, only one has been breached
13:36 – Wake-up call to hosting providers (https://www.channele2e.com/news/msp-judgment-day/)
14:14 – Blake's take on the iNSYNQ Situation
15:28 – Jack Newton on the "unholy combination" of cloud and on-prem technologies - (https://twitter.com/jack_newton/status/1154368009906970625)
16:51 – Slightly ironic? Five Ways to Avoid a Ransomware Attack (https://www.insynq.com/blog/5-ways-to-avoid-a-ransomware-attack/)
17:27 – Rachel sheds light on some of Sage's cloud and desktop hosting elements
22:30 – How "Six Ways How Cloud Computing Improves Accounting Practices" confuses the issue of cloud v. desktop (https://www.hostreview.com/blog/190723-6-ways-how-cloud-computing-improves-accounting-practices)
24:56 – Rachel talks about MindBridge, and the benefits of using AI for audits
28:15 – Part of MindBridge's successful marketing campaign (https://www.mindbridge.ai/university-alliance-alumni/)
32:44 – According to Michael Izza, ICAEW Chief Executive, the auditing profession needs to "be prepared to think and act differently" (https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/pivot-magazine/2018-08-28-michael-izza-interview)
34:04 – Words of wisdom for auditors (https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/pivot-magazine/2019-02-26-mindbridge-ai-auditing)
35:35 – Where IS the best place to find top-level accounting talent? (https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/where-should-you-be-looking-for-top-accounting-talent)
37:36 – The IRS issues some 10,000 gentle reminders about cryptocurrency filing obligations (https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2019/jul/virtual-currency-irs-filing-201921691.html)
38:30 – How to pay your $3 million IRS bill in cash (https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/pot-company-ceo-tax-bill-cash)
40:19 – Expensify takes home some bling for its 2019 Super Bowl 2 Chainz video (https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/expensify-wins-big-in-cannes-for-2-chainz-video)
43:08 – Using Microsoft Excel’s Power Query might leave you vulnerable to malware attacks (https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-excel-power-query-feature-can-be-abused-for-malware-distribution/)
44:16 – SMB lender OnDeck wants to become a bank (https://bankinnovation.net/allposts/operations/comp-reg/smb-lender-ondeck-actively-pursuing-bank-charter/)
45:26 – Lendio, another SMB player, acquires Billy, a cloud-accounting app, rebranding it as Sunrise, perhaps offering a ‘light’ alternative to QBO and Xero (https://smallbiztrends.com/2019/07/sunrise-bookkeeping-app.html)
47:37 – California wants to increase truth-in-lending protections for small business borrowers (https://www.pymnts.com/loans/2019/california-proposed-business-lending-rules-draw-support/)
49:30 – 59 percent of larger firms still haven’t tackled payment automation (https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2019/mastercard-on-tackling-ap-automation-last-mile/)
51:24 – Gusto’s Series-D round raises $200 million for East Coast expansion and continued development on its Flexible Pay feature (https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/smb-payroll-startup-gusto-raises-200m-series-d-plans-rd-expansion-to-nyc/)

Connect with Rachel

Rachel Fisch on Twitter: @FischBooks
LinkedIn: Rachel Fisch, CPB

Get in Touch

Thanks for listening! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and, if you like what you hear, do us a favor and write a review on iTunes. Interested in sponsoring the Cloud Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.