There has been considerable debate over whether companies can ensure data security and privacy when services outsourced to offshore providers. U.S. laws that protect information and safeguard privacy do not have extraterritorial jurisdiction, which means that, as offshoring proliferates, U.S. corporations are becoming increasingly dependent on foreign laws to protect their interests. The outsourcing and offshoring of financial and professional services have raised ethical questions regarding integrity, objectivity, disclosure, and client confidentiality; for example, as laid out by Steven Mintz in “The Ethical Dilemmas of Outsourcing” (The CPA Journal, March 2004).
Critics of offshoring express concerns about the risk of posting confidential client information such as Social Security numbers to an overseas provider’s website (Jesse Robertson, Dan Stone, Liza Niederwanger, Matthew Grocki, Erica Martin, and Ed Smith, “Offshore Outsourcing of Tax Return Preparation,” The CPA Journal, June 2005). Some AICPA members have argued, however, that concerns regarding the confidentiality of data are unfounded, insisting that reputable third-party service providers use security measures that far exceed those applied by many U.S. accounting firms (AICPA, “Comment Letters in Response to Ethics Division Exposure Draft on Outsourcing,” 2004). Desai, Renu & Mcgee, Robert & Robertson, Jesse & Stone, Dan & Niederwanger, Liza & Grocki, Matthew & Martin, Erica. (2020). Is Outsourced Data Secure?
Our round the clock, closed-circuit television (CCTV) with cameras and motion detectors monitored facility at PLoS, Mumbai, India, operates paperless in a secure and protected environment. Screen Recording Software installed on all the staff computers dramatically minimizes data tampering and identity theft. We have banned Personal documents and media devices by the staff at our facility. The employees have restricted access to the internet and sign nondisclosure agreements.
The client’s data is shared with PLoS through secure file sharing sites like Dropbox / Google Drive / Microsoft OneDrive /equivalent. We store the client data on the password-protected firewalled and antivirus equipped desktop/laptop computers and daily backed up on an external hard drive(s) in the PLoS founder’s sole custody.
PLoS, from time to time, objectively evaluates available methods and controls in offshoring/outsourcing to mitigate the clients’ concerns about data security and privacy to endeavor greater overall efficiency.
If you have questions, please email at info@offshorepls.com.