How to Secure the 10 Most Vulnerable Places in Your Office

protect your work space from data breaches

Would you leave sensitive information and expensive equipment open to the public? This question may have an easy answer. The idea of leaving private files and company belongings vulnerable to unauthorized users is inconceivable. However, you may not realize this threat can still exist inside company doors. This is why it is essential to secure confidential information at all times, whether you are in the office or away.

 

Secure Shredding & Recycling understands the need for safe practices to protect sensitive documents and belongings. Unfortunately, even businesses with the best intentions frequently overlook these ten common office areas. Learn how to identify these vulnerable areas and what steps you can take to keep your information secure.

1. Work Desks

The place where you spend most of your day is one of the areas with the highest risk of putting information at risk. Many professionals handle sensitive information daily, from pulling up passwords to working with client files. However, when you’re no longer at your desk, you must ensure that nothing confidential is on display.

 

A good rule of thumb is the “photo test.” If someone were to take a picture of your desk, would they walk away with information they shouldn’t have? This solution is arguably the easiest way to secure confidential information and should be followed daily.

2. The Office Printer

Whenever you print a document, it’s essential to retrieve it promptly and check to ensure everything you print is accounted for. Open printer trays, especially in a high-traffic office, are easy places for documents to go missing. If these papers include client details or other sensitive information, this could put your client or your company’s reputation at risk.

 

To secure confidential information, determine best practices that work for your office, such as keeping records of what’s printed and by whom.

Man using office printer

3.Clean Out the Storage Room

Storage rooms hold everything from old boxes to forgotten flash drives and storage software. Without safety standards, these files could present data vulnerabilities.

  • Even after deleting files, old hard drives can still hold magnetic data that hackers can recover.
  • Digital storage devices, including floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs, pose the same risk of information breaches.
  • Old paper files risk exposing client information, financial data, or account information.

 

The solution is simple: Clean out the storage room regularly to secure confidential information.

 

If you have old hard drives or papers that must be carefully disposed of, choose a mobile shredding service from Secure Shredding & Recycling. We will bring our state-of-the-art shredding truck right to your business. Simply box up your old documents or electronic media before your appointment. Before your eyes, we will shred your sensitive information. Then, we will transport the debris back to our facility for final cleaning and recycling, maintaining a strict level of security.

4. The Accounting Area

It makes sense that the location of all the monetary information and employee payroll details should require some extra security. But often, this area is only marginally more secure than employee desks.

 

Ideally, the accounting area should have limited access. Before being allowed in, office guests should check-in and receive permission to visit the area. Additionally, all sensitive documents should be safely locked away when not used.

5. The Garbage Can

It’s easy to throw away documents in your office trash without a second thought. However, documents in the garbage can easily be plucked out and tucked away. Even after the trash bag is finally moved to the exterior dumpster, the information can be at risk to any passerby.

 

To secure confidential information, store paper documents safely in our secure storage bins until your scheduled shredding service. If your office doesn’t already have one in place, design and implement a document disposal strategy. For example, Secure Shredding & Recycling offers a variety of sizes for secure storage bins to meet the needs of your unique office size and layout. 

Additionally, mobile shredding services can come in handy, especially if your company handles a lot of papers with sensitive or confidential information. By scheduling regular appointments, your company never has to worry about amassing too many confidental, out of use documents between shredding appointments.

Secure Shredding & Recycling professional performing mobile shredding service.

6. The Recycling Bin

Much like a garbage can, recycling bins can house a variety of office information, from paper documents to sticky notes with confidential information. With Secure Shredding & Recycling, you can protect this information and recycle your paper goods with one service.

 

Whether you opt for mobile shredding or an off-site shredding service, we ensure that your documents are thoroughly destroyed. We then recycle the remaining particles at our secure facility before providing you with a Certificate of Destruction.

 

Secure Shredding & Recycling is dedicated to environmental responsibility. When you partner with us for your shredding services, you can rest assured that you’re still doing your part for the environment — minus the security risk.

7. Employee Phones

According to statistics gathered by Atto, 87% of companies have policies requiring employees to use their personal devices in the workplace. While technology is undeniably a fantastic asset, especially for commerce, it does present several security risks, especially from personal phones. Instead of having only one access point for confidential business information, there are suddenly twenty or more — and they all have varying levels of security protocols.

 

If employees absolutely must use their personal devices for work, it’s imperative that you have a good security plan in place. Make sure each employee understands the responsibility of handling company information.

8. The Meeting Room

Like work desks, meeting rooms see a lot of secure, confidential information and innovative new ideas. You wouldn’t want this information spread beyond your business, so make sure that whoever uses the room next doesn’t have access to your information.

Keep these safe practices in mind:

  • Sign out after each meeting if a computer is used for presentations or logs into employee email accounts.
  • Make sure that only those with permission can use the technology.
  • If papers containing confidential data are handed out during the meeting, ensure an office system is in place to encourage their safe disposal.
 Female professionals consulting in a meeting room.

9. Office IT

Your business’s IT uses computer systems and software to store, retrieve, and transmit data. Not having safe IT practices in place can put your company at risk of data vulnerabilities such as cyberattacks, unauthorized access, and data breaches.

 

To secure confidential information, follow these IT best practices:

  • Use Strong Passwords: Employees should use passwords that combine letters, numbers, and special characters, making them tough to guess or hack.
  • Perform Regular Software Updates: Ensuring software is up-to-date is vital in patching vulnerabilities that could expose your network to hackers.
  • Require Multifactor Authentication: Add another layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification before accessing sensitive data.

 

This proactive approach to cybersecurity doesn’t just protect your company. It is essential in maintaining trust and security in the digital landscape.

10. The Lunch Area

Sometimes, the most relaxed areas present the highest risks. If employees review documents or discuss confidential information in an area with unrestricted access, it could create the opportunity for a data breach. Make sure employees understand where they may discuss confidential information. And, ensure there’s a safe place for throwing away confidential data when it’s no longer needed.

Secure Confidential Information With Secure Shredding & Recycling

Most of these ways to secure confidential information just require a little thought and an afternoon of planning. However, having professional shredding services can make the process even easier. From one-time shredding services to on-going services, Secure Shredding & Recycling can help you keep your information safe. 

If you have any questions about what is included in our scheduled or mobile shredding services, give us a call at 1-833-747-3399 or request a free quote online. Take the first step today in protecting your confidential information.

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