Cybersecurity guidance for small businesses in Rockland, Westchester & Bergen — ransomware protection, compliance, and practical security steps.
Most accounting firms already own more Microsoft 365 security than they have switched on. Business Premium covers what a CPA practice needs. The expensive add-ons usually do not apply to you. I get asked some version of this question every fall. A firm is coming up on renewal, somebody has quoted them an upgrade, and … Read more
QuickBooks Desktop 2023 stopped getting support on May 31, 2026. Desktop 2024 is the last Pro and Premier release. The real decision is not which QuickBooks you buy. It is where the file lives. Two programs generate more support calls than anything else we manage. Outlook is one. QuickBooks is the other. So when Intuit … Read more
The controls a New York insurance agency owes under 23 NYCRR Part 500 are only half of a DFS examination, because the regulation also requires documentation proving each one, kept for five years. Every transitional period in the amended regulation has now closed. The last one expired November 1, 2025. There is no phase-in left … Read more
Windows Server 2016 stops receiving security updates on January 12, 2027. After that date your options are an in-place upgrade to Windows Server 2025, replacement hardware, a move to Azure, or paid Extended Security Updates. January 12, 2027 falls on a Tuesday. The second Tuesday of the month, which makes it Patch Tuesday, and that … Read more
A job site is a branch office that has to be switched on before the first crew arrives, then taken apart at closeout. Here is how the connection back to headquarters should actually be built.
The IT requirements on a government construction job arrive in the contract, not from a regulator, and on federal work they start with the fifteen safeguarding controls in FAR 52.204-21. State and local jobs add their own. New York changed its rules on January 1, 2026, and most contractors I talk to have not caught … Read more
Your business owns its Microsoft 365 tenant, but in practice it answers to whoever holds the Global Administrator role, the domain registrar login, and the phone that answers the MFA prompt. Put all three in the company’s name now. There is no single company Microsoft account, which is the first thing worth knowing. What most … Read more
Under the Microsoft 365 shared responsibility model, Microsoft secures the platform and you secure what sits inside it. Your data, your user accounts, and your tenant settings stay yours. So does backup. Microsoft will keep the servers running. That is a genuine commitment, financially backed, and better at it than any server closet in Rockland … Read more
Last updated: August 17, 2026 [FEATURED IMAGE: Best cybersecurity companies in Westchester 2026 — USER TO SUPPLY] VJNetworks ranks as the top cybersecurity provider for Westchester businesses in 2026, earning an 8.80/10 for its 97% client retention rate over 20+ years, 15-minute business-hours response commitment, and enterprise-grade security architecture built specifically for companies with 5 … Read more
Accounting firms count as financial institutions under federal law, so the FTC Safeguards Rule requires multi-factor authentication, encryption, access controls, and secure disposal on every system holding client data. Firm size does not change that. Most of the accounting firm owners I talk to in Rockland, Westchester, and Bergen believe cybersecurity rules are something that … Read more
