You Must Comply With New Document Security Laws
You Must Comply With New Document Security Laws
Document security at your place of business is addressed by various legal requirements. Legislation is divided into two categories; Federal Legislation and State/Provincial Legislation. Each state has its own set of regulations that are to be followed by businesses functioning within that state. Rigorous compliance is not an easy task to manage for the typical business owner null considering the amount of time consumed in just trying to understand what is required, much less to gather the resources needed to implement it . This explains why many small business owners prefer working with companies who can bring them a total document security management system. Such companies are equipped with all the necessary equipment and the knowledge required by the legislation to keep your business secure . null legal requirements that need to be followed by business owners.
"All businesses do business with confidential information. Customer lists, hard drives from expired computers, CDs and other electronic media that is outdated, price lists, sales statistics, drafts of bids and correspondence, salary schedules, employment applications, employee files, letterhead, bills, etc contain confidential information that must be kept private. Any of your documents in the hands of criminals can cause significant problems, and even potential law suits . Federal and state legal requirements mandate that employees and customers have a legal right to have their data protected," says Kelley Johannsen, MBA, General Manager, Shred-it Arizona. "Without the proper policies and procedures null information ends up in the trash where it is freely , and legally available to anybody. The dumpster is judged null ID thieves as the single most available source of competitive and private information from the average business. Any business that improperly discards private and proprietary information becomes vulnerable to the risk of criminal and civil prosecution , as well as loss of business."
Here in summary, are the key things your business needs to do.
1. Shred often and regularly and avoid the risks of human error or poor judgment about what needs to be shredded. Deter the accumulation of confidential paper waste that is stored in different parts of your office , creating a security risk.
2. Don't take unshredded documents to a recycler company. You don't want to be concerned about what is happening where you can't see it.
null You will make sure that their are no security gaps in the process if you use a professional service. Outsourcing also saves the time and resources of your employees.
When this is done , these principles will dramatically increase the security of your documents, your business and your customers. But let's look at them one at a time.
Shred it all on a regular basis
A "shred-all" policy is one of the most critical steps you can take towards total information security. It means a department or companywide commitment to shredding all documents on a regular basis. Standardizing document destruction procedures will allow your organization to align its rules and regulations with its information security goals and needs.
A shred-all policy is a way to make sure there are no leaks - intentional or unintentional - of your organization's sensitive information to outside sources. This may potentially include criminal groups that feed on this sensitive information to commit fraud and identity theft crimes. In turn, regular disposal of paper waste means it does not accumulate in a chaotic manner, reducing the potential for security breaches resulting from negligence or malicious intent. Regular information security audits will help you identify areas of vulnerability and potential risks. Some security audit best practices include:
1. Conducting audits on a regular basis.
2. Updating your document destruction policies accordingly based on your audit findings.
3. Ensuring your employees are in compliance with your audit policies, as well as identity theft and privacy legislation.
4. Training your staff in safe document destruction procedures. Show them your commitment to the cause and help them understand the importance of protecting your company's - and your customers' - confidential information.
Full cooperation of your employees is paramount, but a word of caution is in order. While most security threats may be perceived to be outside of your organization, don't overlook the potential for internal threats. As sad as it may be to say it, one of your own staff members may be involved in secure information theft. According to the US-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, up to 23 per cent of all breaches that required notification since 2000 have been caused by an employee. Important information can be lost, stolen or mishandled by your staff members. That's why limiting the number of people who have access to confidential data and enforcing security guidelines on all levels of an organization is so important.
Don't assume recylcing without first shredding is safe
You may think you are doing your part for the environment by tossing paper into the recycling bin. The real question, however, is whether or not you are doing it in a security conscious way? You may not have thought of it, but your documents are unguarded and unprotected while they sit and way at the recycler's facility to be processed. This is a serious security vulnerabilty to you if you have any confidential or sensitive information in that pile of papers. For example, unguarded paper in recycling containers can be misplaced or stolen. It can even fall out of the truck and onto the street for anyone to find and pick up.
There is a way to meet both needs - serving the environment and practicing responsible business by recycling documents while also keeping your customers' confidential information confidential. You can do both well by outsourcing your document destruction to a reputable and reliable paper shredding service company. These companies are designed to ensure the highest standards of security and have a proven record of environmental sensitivity.
You might find it interesting to know that, working with Shred-it, organizations save one tree through recycling every time they fill up two Shred-it security containers with paper. Shred-it even offers customers an annual Environmental Certificate, which states how many trees they have saved. What's more, by using recyclable, biodegradable, hydraulic fuels for its vehicles, Shred-it proves its commitment to continuing to improve its environmental practices.
Shred with a reliable supplier
By implementing all these measures, you'll come a long way toward the ultimate goal - total security of your business and customer information. However, one question remains - should you hire a third party provider or try pursuing these measures on your own?
Here are a few pointers to help you ponder this question:
1. When you outsource document destruction, you free up your staff to concentrate on what matters the most - your business and the bottom line. This means productivity savings of up to 15 - 20 per cent, according to Shred-it's analysis of the number of employees generating and shredding paper, the time it takes them and their hourly wage.
2. This estimate does not reflect the potential costs of litigation, expensive fines, reputation damage, loss of trust and negative media coverage potentially caused by security breaches, resulting from in secure document destruction practices. According to Forrester Research Inc., companies that experienced security breaches in the U.S. in 2006 lost between $1 million and $22 million. In Canada, identity theft may cost businesses and consumers approximately $2.5 billion, according to the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus. And in the U.K., businesses can suffer between $30,000 to $250,000 from security related reputation damage alone. Professional document destruction by a reliable third-party provider will help make sure such breaches do not happen.
3. Most organizations do not have the expertise to ensure total security of the document destruction process, nor do they have the equipment necessary for storing and shredding sensitive documents, such as locked security consoles and powerful shredding machines. Finally, they do not have the human resources needed to support the tight chain of custody around the document destruction process.
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