BooksTime uses state-of-the-art security technology. As a company founded by a network security expert (who previously served as a senior manager at Check Point Technologies, the largest pure-play computer security vendor in the world), our passion and expertise in security technology runs deep.
Data transmissions, including emails, are protected with strong long-key encryption technology. Both active-use data and backups are stored securely behind advanced firewalls with redundant access control systems. Password protection is only the beginning. We use multi-layer authentication to ensure only authorized users can access client data. Furthermore, access to specific data is limited to a window in time and can be revoked at any point. Data transmissions are also tracked with a full technical audit trail. Bookkeepers may not open sensitive data transmissions on any portable devices (including cell phones and laptops) or non-company computers.
We protect client data with strong AES 256 bit encryption. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a specification established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the encryption of electronic data. AES has never been cracked. It is used by the federal government of the United States to protect classified information and is the only public cipher approved by the NSA for top secret information. With 256-bit keys, brute force attackers are faced with more possible combinations than there are atoms in the observable universe. Even with more sophisticated attacks, it would take the fastest supercomputer in the world trillions of years to crack this encryption (reference).
Our QuickBooks hosting program is authorized directly by Intuit. Your information is backed up daily and stored in SSAE-16 compliant, Tier 4 data centers with compartmentalized security zones (Tier 4 is the highest tier), biometric access controls, fully-clustered server redundancy (ensuring reliability and availability, as well as enabling effective load balancing), fully encrypted communication and backups, firewall protections, and safeguards in case of natural disasters.
Using proprietary software, we remove sensitive data, such as social security numbers, from client documents. This allows us to ensure that bookkeepers only receive information they need to complete the specific tasks assigned to them.
Our systems are designed to show if a breach has occurred.Our system also trace the origin of the breach immediately, which allows us to respond quickly. Additionally, in the very unlikely case that an attacker gains access to sensitive data, proprietary technology allows us to delete it before it is viewed. BooksTime has never had a breach thanks to other security measures.As such, we never had to use this feature.