The IRS and its Security Summit partners issued six recommendations for tax professionals to protect their sensitive taxpayer information.

The six essential steps—called the “Security Six” protections—offer an important starting point for tax pros to protect their offices, computers and data as well as their clients. These best practices include using anti-virus software, firewalls and multifactor authentication.

“Tax professionals face a number of challenges running a business and keeping up with the latest tax law changes, but they shouldn’t overlook some security basics,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “They should keep in mind these six simple security tips that provide an important foundational defense that protects their systems, their clients and ultimately their business.”

The Security Six protections form a critical defense against identity thieves and hackers, the IRS stated. They are the following:

● Anti-virus software that scans computer files or memory for certain patterns that may indicate there’s malicious software—also called malware—on the device;

● Firewalls that provide protection against outside attackers;

● Multifactor authentication that adds an extra layer of protection beyond a password;

● Backup software or services that should be used routinely by tax pros to back up critical files on their computers and hard drives to external sources;

● Drive encryption that transforms data on the computer into protected files that are unreadable to outsiders; and

● Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that allow for a more secure connection, providing a secure, encrypted tunnel to transmit data between a remote user over the internet and the company network.

As part of a security plan, the IRS also recommends that tax professionals create a data theft response plan, which includes contacting their IRS Stakeholder Liaison to report a security incident.

Tax professionals can also visit the Federation of Tax Administrators to find state contact information. Tax professionals can share information with the appropriate state tax agency by visiting their special Report a Data Breach page. Tax professionals should also understand the Federal Trade Commission data breach response requirements as part of their overall information and data security plan.

This is Week 7 of the Summit’s nine-part news release series designed to help tax professionals to protect themselves better.