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Self-Study Courses

Best Practices: Mitigating Data Breaches and Vulnerabilities and Appropriate Incident Response

2 CPE Credits $41.00/credit hour
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Data breaches continue to rise in frequency, cost, and complexity, placing organizations and the professionals who advise them at significant risk. With cybercriminals increasingly exploiting human behavior, unpatched systems, and weak security controls, accounting, tax, and financial professionals must understand how data is targeted, compromised, and monetized. This course delivers a practical, real‑world framework for mitigating data breaches and vulnerabilities while preparing professionals to respond effectively when incidents occur.

Led by Susan Harper, Certified Fraud Examiner and retired IRS Internal Revenue Agent, this program examines common sources of intelligence, high‑value data targets, and the methods attackers use to access sensitive information. Participants will learn how to implement safeguards to reduce cyber risk, develop an effective cybersecurity posture, and design an incident response plan capable of protecting confidential client and organizational data. The course also walks through appropriate incident response steps, remediation strategies, and identity theft procedures, reinforced through real‑world case studies and breach scenarios.

Per the IRS Education Provider Standards this course must be COMPLETED by 12/31/2029 to receive credits. NOTE: Go to My Professional Profile in your CCH CPELink account settings to ensure your name, and PTIN number; matches your PTIN card

Publication Date: August 2026

Designed For
This course is designed for professionals responsible for handling sensitive data or advising clients on data protection and cyber risk.

Topics Covered

  • Sources of intelligence and common data targets
  • Threat actors and attack vectors
  • How information is lost, stolen, or exposed
  • Safeguarding information and reducing vulnerabilities
  • Cybersecurity frameworks and preventive controls
  • Incident response planning and response teams
  • Responding to cyber incidents and data breaches
  • Remediation, recovery, and prevention strategies
  • Identity theft response procedures
  • Practical case studies and breach examples

Learning Objectives

  • Identify common sources of intelligence and data targeted by cyber criminals
  • Analyze how sensitive information becomes lost, stolen, or compromised
  • Apply best practices to mitigate data breaches and cybersecurity vulnerabilities
  • Implement appropriate incident response actions following a data security incident
  • Develop an incident response plan designed to protect sensitive and regulated data
  • Execute identity theft response procedures to limit harm and exposure

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None

Instructor

Susan Harper

Susan Harper, Certified Fraud Examiner, began her career as an Internal Revenue Agent with the Internal Revenue Service in 1988. She joined the first Abusive Tax Avoidance Transaction group in 2002 before becoming a Fraud Enforcement Advisor in 2008 through 2021 where she helped other auditors, who identified first indicators of fraud in their examinations. Later, Susan joined Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics in 2021 and recently retired as the Technical Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer. Susan has been instructing CPE seminars for 25 years and looks forward to interacting with her audience for many years to come.
$82.00 / 2 CPE
NASBA Registered Sponsor
CPAs, EAs, CTECs Approved Credentials
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