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Professional Shredding Services Will Help Your Business Eliminate Office Clutter

Data breach is an unfortunate reality and it affects millions of people across the globe; sometimes it can occur without warning, but in many cases it can be prevented through proper security processes within your business. To have confidence in knowing that your business is in fact compliant with the laws surrounding information security and document shredding, it is important you follow some simple rules; the first being the easiest but most important: Stay organized and clutter-free. This means check that desks are free from endless piles of records and that your cabinets aren’t overflowing with outdated documentation.

Bottom line; a workplace that is untidy could create a very vulnerable environment for a security breach to occur.

While identity thieves are continuously highlighted in the news as the number one cause for fraud and information theft, it is important to realize there needs to be specific internal changes made within your office to stop data breach from occurring in the first place. Turning to shredding services is by far the most reliable decision that ensures critical documents are never exposed, however there are more steps to keep in mind before document shredding takes place.

Here are some common security threats and ways in which you can prevent them:

Garbage Beside the Printer

When a garbage can is next to a printer, you can bet it’ll be used for more than just “garbage”. Confidential business information that’s printed by accident, or printed multiple times will likely land in this garbage can simply due to the fact that it’s convenient and easy. This is a major security threat however, as it leaves information vulnerable to dumpster divers who are seeking identifiable information that can be used to commit data breach crimes.

Solution:  Any confidential documents that are no longer needed should be kept in a lockable collection container before they are collected by your shredding service. This guarantees that they are stored in a secure environment where they will not be mistaken for garbage.

Recycling Bin

Like a garbage bin next to your printer, an open recycling bin can be risky business too; far too often documents get tossed in any bin positioned next to a printing area, and this is due to sheer convenience. With this in mind, many companies are getting rid of office-sized recycling bins entirely to stop sensitive records from entering blue bins. Dumpster divers will locate these documents and steal any juicy details they find to be helpful.

Solution: While every workplace should have a thorough recycling program in place, a separate shredding process should be implemented for the destruction of confidential paper. All paper should be shred prior to recycling, so introducing a shred-all policy within your workplace is an excellent way to simplify the process for employees, and it limits the chance of employee error as well.

Key for Security Bin

The keys for your collection bins should always be stored in a safe and secure spot. Remember that if you have a key left out in sight, it’s essentially free game for anyone who is curious or has other intentions, to access your documents. It’s not something anyone wants to believe, but unfortunately theft happens internally all of the time; keys that aren’t secured away could be tempting to wandering eyes in your office.

Solution:  Keep the key in a secured storage room or cabinet, and only grant access to specific employees in management ideally. Having said that, it is truly in your best interest to hire a shredding service, such as A1 DATASHRED, who will provide your business with locked consoles to place throughout your office as you wish. Highly qualified trained personnel will then collect, remove, and securely shred all material through the use of our mobile shred truck.  Outsourcing your shredding services is the only form of document management that guarantees your business will remain compliant and secure.

Don’t risk it!

Get in touch with A1 DATASHRED for further information surrounding our shredding solutions and how they can be of assistance to your company.

Call us at: 1-888-95SHRED

October 15, 2018