Sensitive business information is important to keep secure while in your hands and the following disposal. General awareness surrounding information theft and fraud is increasing, but acts of crime pertaining to both issues continue to occur throughout Los Angeles, and the rest of the United States. How can your business reduce the risks associated with these incidences?
First and foremost, it’s crucial that you keep your work environment as clutter-free and organized as possible. This will help to ensure day to day processes run smoothly, and that your staff is working in a productive manner without added distractions. Most notably, an orderly office assists your business in remaining compliant when it comes to the protection of private information. On the flip side, if your work environment looks like a bomb just went off, then you have some possible serious security risks at hand. In fact, an office that screams havoc could lend itself to a security breach, which is not ideal for any business.
How can you establish a work environment that keeps you safe from the threat of a data breach? There are many options your Los Angeles business can consider; primarily you’ll want to be certain all stored documents are secure from exposure, and that any records being disposed of are done professionally and safely. Partnering with an experienced document shredding provider to shred your old documents is by far the most reliable solution for guaranteed information security. What else can you do aside from document destruction? Here are a few common security risks you should be familiar with, and appropriate solutions to prevent such occurrences.
Garbage Bins Situated Next to Printing Station
If your garbage bins are situated beside a printing station, you can bet that they will use for more than simply garbage disposal. Confidential documents that are mistakenly printed or left behind by error, will more than likely make their way into the garbage because of its convenient location. Unfortunately this “lazy toss” as it’s sometimes known as results in an immediate security threat because documents are left vulnerable in an unsecured bin. If the wrong person discovers private details, any of it could be used to carry out criminal activity, such as identity theft.
Solution: Any paperwork containing sensitive matters but no longer requires keeping, should be placed in a lockable collection container before being emptied for secure destruction. Using these containers guarantees that your documents remain secure and untouched prior to pick-up, keeping your business, employees, and clients protected.
Wrongful Use of Recycling Bins
As like garbage bins, recycling containers that are used for paper disposal will leave your Los Angeles organization susceptible to a data breach. Interestingly enough, many business owners are making the decision to remove office-sized recycling bins from their office entirely, in an effort to keep documents away from the recycling bin. Dumpster divers will rummage through recycling and garbage bins to locate the juicy content they can use to their advantage.
Solution: Keep documents separate from recyclables; paper documents should be destroyed thoroughly before recycling; therefore it’s recommended that organizations follow a shred-all policy to allow for a simple and easy their employees can follow without error.
Unrestricted Access to Collection Containers
The key(s) for your collection containers should be kept away in a secure area at all times. If a key is left out in open view, technically anyone within your office could gain access to this private information. While no one wants to believe that internal theft takes place, unfortunately, it can be a tempting scenario for curious, wandering eyes.
Solution: Store the key away in a secured storage room or cabinet, and only give access to certain staff members who you can trust, and are in an authoritative position in your company. For service and security, you can rely on, we recommend hiring a document destruction company such as SAFESHRED in Los Angeles who will provide your company with durable, lockable consoles to place throughout your office, in high traffic areas. Our experienced and trained personnel, will then collect, remove, and securely shred all content through the use of our mobile shred truck, at a prearranged scheduled service date. Outsourcing your document shredding is the only method of document destruction that guarantees your Los Angeles organization will remain compliant and secure.
Don’t leave your business at risk when it’s easily preventable! Contact SAFESHRED, to speak to our team about the professional document shredding solutions we currently provide. You will quickly discover why so many businesses depend on our services to help save them time and money while enhancing their internal security measures.
Call us at 1-800-987-4733.
