Is cyber security enough or do i need to protect my business from something more?
When we think about security, what usually comes to mind is cyber security. We’ve all dealt with hacking attempts and phishing emails claiming to be from Nigerian Princes. Most businesses pay a lot of importance to cyber security systems, and they should. Everyone is a target of cybercrime.
However, with so much importance being given to cybercrimes, we mostly forget the lowly, humble, and easily overlooked culprits of data breach: paper and digital documents.
Here are some issues related to document security and what can be done about them.
Print Away!
Do we really care about who can see our documents when we send a print? Usually, we don’t. If we did send a print and it’s not in the printer output tray, do we investigate where it went? No! We just send another print.
It’s very easy to walk past an office printer and walk away with sensitive data. Whether it’s one document or several documents, it’s a violation.
Tip:
Implementing Follow-me printing (Pull Printing) can ensure that the print goes to the person who it’s meant for and not anyone else.
Data Stream
Hackers can easily acquire data that is sent over a print stream to a printer.
Tip:
Encrypt all data being sent on the network.
Printer Hard Drives
Depending on your printer’s model, there could be thousands of receipts, checks, invoices, or customer data on your printer’s hard drive. It can easily be transferred to a USB drive or accessed remotely.
Tip:
Many copiers and printers now come with an overwrite option. Use it frequently. Make it a policy to wash clean the drives at least twice a month. If you’re leasing a copier, make sure to format the drive before returning it.
Unauthorized Apps
Productivity apps have made life really easy for us as far as sharing is concerned. However it presents a big problem if the data being shared is confidential.
Tip:
Use authorized, cloud-based solutions and apps instead.
Print Tracking
If there’s no print tracking, then anyone can print anything from the printer and no one will be the wiser.
Tip:
Implement print policies and rules to control and track all the documents being printed.
Unlocked Filing Cabinets
How many times have you walked by a colleague’s office and found his cabinets unlocked? Usually, when we need to access a cabinet or a drawer frequently, we tend to leave it open. Locking and unlocking it again and again may be a time thief, but leaving it open is a bigger issue that you must take care of. All a person needs is access to the cabinet or drawer for 5 minutes and he can walk away with a number of documents without leaving any trace.
Tip:
Lock all your paper files in a secure room with locked drawers. Place a camera at the entrance so the people coming and going from the room can be monitored. Another way of making sure all your files remain secure is to digitize all your paperwork and password protect and encrypt it all. This way you can effectively ensure that only the people who are authorized to open the file will have access to the file.