Many office managers understand the importance of good information management practices. Taking some precautions to reduce the risk of information breach can mitigate risk and liability in the unfortunate event of a data breach. While bigger companies tend to have more measures in place to keep information safe, smaller businesses are usually more likely to lack proper information management practices and measures.
The reality is that people seeking to steal or compromise sensitive information, by and large, don’t care whether you are a small or large business. No matter the size of your office or operation, proper security measures need to be taken to protect the information held by your business, employees and customers.
Knowing where to start can be difficult, as there are many potential vulnerabilities in modern workplaces. Some of the places to start include;
Computer systems
- Maintain a reliable backup solution. For large businesses, depending on the nature of business, this could range from server networks to network storage drives and more. Small businesses with one or two computers could be served well with a simple external hard drive. Having a backup solution that runs regularly is invaluable when things go wrong.
- Implement strong cyber security solutions. This can include using programs like antivirus and anti-malware tools. Having these programs running regularly can help keep your computer system secured.
Office Management
- Begin a clean desk policy. Having a personal or office rule to leave the office with a clean desk can minimize the risk of information being viewed by the wrong eyes.
- Undertake risk assessment analysis regularly to determine where you’re office stands. Identifying new security vulnerabilities as they arise is key to keeping your workplace secured.
- Communicate and train employees to abide by new policies. Clearly communicating the implementation of new policies is just as important as training employees on how to abide by these policies. A clean desk policy is only valuable when employees know both how it works and when it is enforced.
- Consider the use of a professional document destruction service. Although we may be a little biased here, it’s impossible to deny the massive security advantages that come with professional document shredding. Office shredders don’t work to nearly the same degree as professional shredding machines, which render documents in a virtually irreversible state. On-site shredding services can boost security even more, with document destruction happening right on your premises.
If your office in the Columbus or Birmingham area is looking to up its data security game, contact Shred-A-Way today to find out how our services can work for your business. Our service area is always growing!