The RMC Advisors

Fourth Annual TRENDS Symposium – June 3, 2011

Join McKonly & Asbury on Friday, June 3, 2011 for our fourth annual TRENDS symposium focusing on accounting and audit issues for the insurance industry. The session provides 6.5 CPE credits, which includes 1 tax credit and 1 ethics credit. McKonly & Asbury is an approved continuing professional education program sponsor through the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy.

We have an exciting array of speakers and topics planned, based on comments we received from previous participants.

• Legislative Update - Patricia Vance, Pennsylvania State Senator and member of the Pennsylvania Banking & Insurance Committee.
• Insurance Department Update - Stephen Johnson, Deputy Insurance Commissioner, and David DelBiondo, Director, Bureau of Financial Examinations.
• Tax Update – McKonly & Asbury Tax Group
• Business/Professional Ethics – Elaine Nissley, MBA, CISA, PMP, CCSA, CRISC, Principal, McKonly & Asbury Risk Management Services Group.
• Cloud Computing & Social Media: Risks and Controls - Samuel BowerCraft, MIS, CISA, Senior Manager, McKonly & Asbury Risk Management Services Group.
• Reinsurance –Jane Taylor, FCAS, MAAA, JD, Consulting Actuary, Huggins Actuarial Services.
• Safeguarding Confidential Data – John Dormuth, MSIM, CPCU, ARM, Account Executive, McConkey Insurance & Benefits. 

Sponsored by McKonly & Asbury and McConkey Insurance & Benefits, the symposium will take place at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center at 1150 Camp Hill Bypass in Camp Hill, PA on June 3rd!

Agenda and Details

• June 3 (Friday)
• Registration starts at 7:30am
• The seminar will run from 8:00am to no later than 4:00pm. 
• Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center (Camp Hill)

The cost to attend is $50, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

To register, please contact Erin Hench at ehench@macpas.com or by calling 717-972-5814.

 

Security and Fraud Prevention Seminar

McKonly & Asbury will be hosting a Security and Fraud Prevention Seminar on Friday, September 24, 2010, at the Sheraton Harrisburg/Hershey on Lindle Road in Harrisburg, PA. The seminar will begin at 8:00am and conclude at 3:30 pm, with lunch provided at noon. There is a $35 registration fee and CPE credits are available. 

At this seminar, you'll learn more about...

• Current trends in cyber crime and identity theft, along with a discussion of the methods you can use to protect yourself from being a victim. 
• Resources available to prevent attacks on our critical infrastructure and how to report suspicious activity and crime. 
• The components of fraud, identification of red flags, and other fraud prevention tips related to financial institutions. 
• Banking fraud concerns for businesses and options for minimizing risk. 
• Practical security and the 10 Tips for Success. 
• Mortgage fraud.

Speakers include:

Scott Sutherland, Special Agent of the FBI

David Clark, Special Agent of the FBI

Julie Krause, Regional Sales Manager - Treasury Management at M&T Bank

Tom Strause, Partner with Financial Outsourcing Solutions

David Hammarberg, IT Director with McKonly & Asbury

Samuel BowerCraft, Senior Manager with McKonly & Asbury

 

Agenda:

8:00am - 8:30am: Registration 
8:30am - 8:35am: Welcome (Scott Heintzelman, McKonly & Asbury)
8:35am - 10:00am: IT Security Topic (Scott Sutherland, FBI)
10:00am - 10:15am: Break
10:15am - 11:15am: Practical Security: 10 Tips for Success (David Hammarberg & Samuel BowerCraft, McKonly & Asbury)
11:15am - 12:00pm: Banking Fraud Concerns for Businesses (Julie Krause, M&T Bank)

12:00pm - 1:00pm: Lunch

1:00pm - 1:45pm: Financial Institution Fraud (Tom Strause, Financial Outsourcing Solutions)
1:45pm - 2:00pm: Break
2:00pm - 3:25pm: Mortgage Fraud (David Clark, FBI)
3:25pm - 3:30pm: Closing (Scott Heintzelman, McKonly & Asbury)

If you would like to register, please contact Melissa Roberson at mroberson@macpas.com or by calling 717-761-7910.

Security Zen –Backing Up to Move Forward

 

The world of information technology is filled with information; emails, files, spreadsheets, reports, databases, pictures, websites, and more.  Everywhere you look there is information that was made by and is used by us, our colleagues, our friends and family.  And just as we protect our prized possessions at home by locking the front door or installing an alarm system, we need to protect the electronic data that is important to us.

Data backup is one of the easiest concepts in the information technology world; let’s make a copy!  You copy the data you have to another place so that should the unthinkable happen, the primary data is altered or corrupted or deleted, you have the copy and can use it, and you can move ahead; brilliant!  However, as easy as this concept is, there are some fundamental steps to take to in order to ensure you have a copy of the information when you need it.

1. Identify Your Data: If you don’t know what data you have, how can you know what data you should be backing up?  This process takes far less time than recreating everything you lost.
1. Have business owners make a list of all the data sources they rely on: file folders, application data, databases, etc.
2. For each source, identify if you need to back it up, i.e. yes, or no.
3. For each item you need to backup, indicate how frequently it should be backed up.  Daily?  Weekly? Monthly?
   
2. Setup Your Backups: With the listing you made in step #1, you can hand the plan to the IT department and they will quickly and efficiently setup the backup system to ensure the right things are backed up.  Since you included IT in step #1 for their areas, they won’t feel left out.
   
   
3. Backup the Data: Backups will now take place magically, but there are still items that need to happen to reduce your stress. 
   
   
4. Confirm Successful Backups: There are two parts to this process, and frequently only the first part is done.
1. Part one: Check the backup software daily to see if the backup was completed and successful.  This is a good start, and will catch some problems.  However, as we know, sometimes computers don’t tell us everything and we discover issues later, so to be sure of the backups we do…
2. Part two: Check the backup media.  Backups don’t really help us unless we can restore from the media (tape, CD, server, etc.).  This is why it is STRONGLY encouraged that backups are tested by restoring from the media.  Select a tape and see if you can pull files from it, or the database you use for your general ledger, etc.  If you can’t get files from your backups, then your tapes are good for very little, save perhaps propping up a couch with a missing leg.  This will also help you to check for hardware failures of your backup device.
   
   
5. Store Backups Somewhere Else, Securely: While it is nice to have things where they are easy to access, backup media should not reside in the same building as your datacenter or servers (in general).  What happens when that building catches fire?  You will lose your primary data and the copy in a glorious blaze and despair will set in.  So, keep the tapes somewhere else, properly stored (not in a damp basement or with your dog’s toys) and keep them locked up where they reside.  Backup tapes are good for restoring, but they also contain all your company’s information, so lock them up.

By taking these steps you will dramatically reduce the backup failures you have in your environment, helping you to have more peace of mind as you and your company move ahead.

Written by: Samuel BowerCraft

Breaking News in Information Security

 This week there is breaking news in the world of information security that you will read about in this and 50 different blogs.  It is ground-breaking stuff that will astonish and astound you, and more than likely you will read it and be amazed.  AMAZED I say!

What is this revelation in the world of security?  What could so many be writing about this week?  It is this:

Security of information is mostly about doing the basics.

If you read 50 articles on information security, you will discover a common thread among them all: in one way or another they are talking about limiting rights, locking things up, reviewing access rights, and limiting exceptions to the rules.  While this is not rocket science, it does take time to complete, and more importantly, the effort to do it.

The most surprising part is that this is not new stuff.  Last week while perusing a text1, I found the following security principles regarding coding and IT: Seven Design Principles of Computer Security:

Security Zen – Fraud and Controls – Closing the Door

Why Worry?

When we talk about security, we talk about keeping things safe… safe from harm, safe from hurt, safe from loss.  In business, this means addressing risk in many areas from many perspectives: technology, people, inventory, weather, etc.  Whatever the perspective may be, we want to prevent loss in the most time effective way we can.  Preventing all loss would require spending all of our time working on prevention, and not much else would get done.

Security Zen – Excellence

The New Year is upon us and what has changed?  Not too much, save the decade, some news, and the hope that Spring will be here soon and we will have some brighter weather.  This is usually a time when resolutions are made to “Be more fit” or “Give more to charity” or “Call my mother more than once a month”.  New eras usually bring new goals, and while these are not a bad idea, they have a tendency to not stick.

I have proposed a new resolution for my life, and will carry it forward in the blog, work, life, and every aspect I can.  I challenge you to join me in my resolution.  I say “challenge” because it will not be easy, it will be difficult… but it will be worth every effort and drop of sweat.  Here it is:

“Do all things with excellence.”

Security Zen – Why is Security Important?

Zen Aspect: Right Understanding

Understanding what Information Technology is and why it is important is, for the most part, straightforward.  We have a goal, let’s use technology to achieve that goal so that we do something better and become more productive.  What is needed next is to protect that asset.

Security Zen – What does IT do?

Welcome back.  Today we will discuss the nature of information technology and what it is meant to do.  This is important, for if you don’t know something’s purpose, why would you have it around?  Do you understand why you have information technology in your business [Hint: it is not just for checking YouTube].

First, some Zen.  In Zen, there is another concept called the Eightfold Path, which has eight steps (no surprise).  The first step on the path is:

1. Right Understanding

What this refers to is an understanding of the Four Noble Truths [link] but what is more, understanding what truly is.  This is harder than it seems, because sometimes we don’t like to admit what really is.  No one likes to admit to problems, and the first part in improving any situation is to see it for what it really is, not to pretend that it is what we would prefer.

Security Zen – What is the Purpose of this Blog?

From the standpoint of financial and information systems, security is something that is discussed and touted frequently, but what do we need to do to achieve security?  What makes sense for us to feel secure?  And if we do it once are we done?  Not quite, but each step we take will get us closer to the goal.

We care about security because feeling secure helps us sleep well at night.  The bank has our money, and the doors are locked.  Our company is paying our health insurance premiums, so our kids can visit the doctor.  Security is about peace of mind, and there are oh-so many things to worry about, whether the risks be obvious (viruses, hackers, thieves) or less obvious (inadequate planning or preparation).

So the security part is obvious: we’ll talk about being more secure with our technology, our information, and our money (by managing fraud risks).  The Zen aspect is meant to add something interesting.  Instead of straight-shooting you on technical considerations, I am going weave it into the Zen philosophy.  Yes, Zen.

 Zen has four (4) noble truths that apply to the human condition, which I will be bending to my will.   The first three, summarized, are this:

“Life is suffering”

Security Zen – SBC Biography

 

My name is Samuel BowerCraft (aka “Sam”), and I like to know how things work. As it turns out, I am also pretty good at understanding the details. This makes for a more enjoyable life, because if I were interested but clumsy, I would probably not permit myself to own tools.

This first passion (how does this work?) has led me to study a variety of topics and areas, including engineering (my Bachelor’s degree), carpentry & plumbing, science, writing, business and technology (my Master’s degree), security and fraud (my current vocation), painting, laying floors and fixing filing cabinets. As it turns out, most of these were inspired by projects my wife and mother wanted done, but I enjoyed learning, fixing and serving nonetheless.