In: Accounting
Joseph Carson of Thycotic, the author of the book "Cybersecurity for Dummies" wrote a free version of his text as a guide for the general public. The AICPA obviously had a specific target market for an article it published: "Top 20" article: Top 20 Cybersecurity Checklist for accountants. Compare what you learned in Carson's text to the AICPA's "Top 20" Cybersecurity Checklist.
Discuss similarities and differences between these two. Also consider approaches offered in 2018 SANS Security Awareness Report available online at SANS Institute.org.
Answer.
The AICPA used Cybersecurity for dummies as a framework for their checklist. Although AICPA's checklist is targeted to a specific audience, there’s still a lot of similarities to Cybersecurity for dummies. I found that similarities between the two documents are the tips mentioned and recommended in Cybersecurity for dummies, such as proper password management, two factor authentication, updating software systems, etc. The main difference between the two documents would be that the checklist is essentially just a list of recommendations and ways to keep you protected from cyber threats, while the Cybersecurity for dummies gives you information regarding cybersecurity such as how to recognize a threat, what to do if you experienced a cyber attack, and ways to protect yourself.
Reference:
Carson, J. (2018). Cybersecurity for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kepczyk, R. (2018). CPA Cybersecurity Checklist.