Challenges Businesses Have In Securing Data

The risks and threats of company data being purposely stolen or inadvertently “shared” are high unless you have excellent security measures in place. Some of the challenges businesses have in securing data may easily be overcome with a good security plan put in place, including locked boxes for documents that need to be shredded.

Greatest IT Security Concern Facing Businesses Today

Because many companies opt for the flexibility of using “the cloud” to store data and to access apps, risks and threats to digital data have increased significantly. Additionally, employers are now allowing employees to use their own computers, tablets and phones to access work data and apps in the name of productivity.

This leads to the weakest link in secure data. If an employee is not properly trained, he or she may respond to a phishing email or phone call. To help with securing data, select a cloud provider with the latest in security technology. Be sure to limit access to apps and data to only those who need it. Keep data separated by the level of security by giving different levels of security clearance.

How Should Companies Prepare Themselves for Security Threats and Problems in the Future?

Learn what is the biggest security threat to an organization is: You and your employees, regardless of how long they have been with the company and what their position is. Training for all levels of employees is pertinent if you want to keep up with cybercriminals. And, not just for digital data: Documents that must be saved and then later shredded after they are no longer needed also need to be secured. IT security concerns also include hard drives and other digital storage media that should be destroyed at the proper time. Never assume that a broken hard drive is inaccessible – have it shredded.

What Businesses Should Do to Mitigate or Minimize Risks

Securing data in today's technological environment may be challenging, but with proper training and assigning security levels, you will be able to minimize the risks of your data being stolen.

• Teach employees to recognize social engineering schemes that are targeted to employees. AT&T's network detects and then blocks over 400 million spam messages every day. A Trojan horse in an email or phone call will wreck even the best security a company has.

• Static security perimeters is not enough. Data security should use end-to-end encryption solutions for applications, databases and networks.

• Limit access to different types of data. If a secretary has no reason to see data that a CEO uses, limit the access to only those who should see that data. Look at the data carefully to ensure that only those who need access have access. If an employee needs access but doesn't have it, he or she may find a less secure method of obtaining that information.

• Make sure traditional security measures are still in place and are followed regularly. Documents that need to be shredded should be in locked holding boxes. A truck from Carolina Shred will pick up those locked boxes and properly shred the documents.

• Data storage hardware that is no longer useful should also be stored in locked holding boxes for the shredder. This includes hard drives and USB and other portable storage media.

• X-ray documents that no longer have to be kept should also be kept in locked holding boxes for the shredder.

• Remember that securing data isn't something you do once and forget about it. Your security must be checked and evaluated frequently and modified as you need it. New threats are constantly cropping up.

Contact Carolina Shred

If you do not have a hard document solution worked into your security, contact Carolina Shred to set up an account. We'll provide you with locked boxes to hold documents and hardware that need to be shredded, and will help you determine how often we need to pick up and replace the boxes.