Cybersecurity Defense for CPAs

📋 Overview

AI has changed cybercrime faster than most firms have changed their defenses. Phishing emails now arrive error-free and personalized, often referencing real colleagues, clients, and projects. Cloned voices and deepfake video are being used to request wire transfers and banking changes. Ransomware operators use AI agents to break into networks in hours instead of weeks, and breaches increasingly come through trusted vendors and connected apps rather than a firm's own systems. This session looks at how today's attacks actually work, the scams circulating right now, and why the warning signs professionals were trained to look for no longer apply. This is not another "don't click the link" lecture. You'll see real attack patterns taken apart step by step, learn to recognize AI-generated fraud when it lands in your inbox or on your phone, and put verification habits in place that hold up even when the request looks and sounds legitimate. You'll leave with a clear picture of the threats that matter this year and a prioritized set of defenses for your firm, your staff, and your clients.

👥 Who Should Attend

CPAs and financial professionals seeking a practical foundation in modern cybersecurity.

🎯 Learning Objectives

• Identify AI-generated phishing emails, cloned voices, and deepfake video
• Recognize the warning signs of today's most common scams targeting accounting and finance professionals
• Apply a callback verification procedure to a payment request or banking change
• Determine where a documented ransomware or data breach attack could have been stopped
• Select the controls that most effectively reduce the risk of AI-enabled fraud, ransomware, and data breaches

🚀 What You'll Walk Away With

• You'll spot AI-written phishing, cloned voices, and deepfake video before they fool you or your staff.
• You'll recognize the scams hitting accounting and finance professionals right now.
• You'll stop fraudulent payment requests and banking changes with a callback procedure that works even when the request looks legitimate.
• You'll see exactly where a real attack could have been stopped, and apply that to your own firm.
• You'll know which controls to put in place first to protect your firm, your staff, and your clients.

📚 Major Topics

1. The AI-powered attacker: phishing, deepfakes, and voice cloning
2. Today's scams: what's hitting accounting and finance professionals now
3. Ransomware and breaches: faster attacks and the vendor back door
4. Building defenses that work: verification, access controls, and staff readiness

🏷️ Topics

❓ Questions

✍️ A Note from the Author

I built this course because the scams hitting accounting firms today don't look like the ones we trained people to catch. The emails are clean, the voices sound right, and the attacks move faster than most firms can react. I wrote it for professionals who need to recognize these attacks and stop them without becoming security specialists.