July - 2021 CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM8IN MYOPINIONIn the construction industry, and at Austin Industries, the disciplines of both accounting and financial management face disruptions on several technological fronts. Yet, the most prevalent at our organization remains cybersecurity. As CFO, the security of our financial assets is my number one priority. Though we face many threats, we believe email protection and banking security are first and foremost in our cyber defense strategy.As our company has grown in recent years, we've expanded our digital footprint, implementing cloud-based solutions for dated manual processes and paper-based record keeping. As a result, our employee-owners, customers, and business partners alike have become accustomed to these new solutions. Trust in digital solutions has grown, and complacency has emerged as a new risk. Without consistent communication and education on the importance of cybersecurity, we risk exposing ourselves to threats simply not possible before the advent of cloud-based computing.Email protectionAt Austin, we've communicated extensively with our employee-owners on the dangers of email phishing schemes.We recognize that anyone within an organization, from senior management to college interns, may fall victim to a phishing scheme that puts the entire network at risk. It is critical that all employees know to exercise caution when opening and reviewing emails. All should look closely at the sender and contents of each email. All should use caution when clicking on embedded links and NEVER provide company credentials, usernames, or passwords.To enhance our approach, we've made important adjustments to company email and network security to keep phishing schemes from accessing our systems. At Austin, we flag all email that originates from outside our company, making it easy for employee-owners to know which messages are internal and CYBERSECURITY: FINANCE'S DIGITAL FRONTIERBy Joe McLaughlin, Chief Financial Officer, Austin Industries
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