3 Office Items That Store Confidential Information

When it comes to the infringement of confidential business data, there are many items that store a lot of sensitive information. As part of your organization’s security plan, you must make an effort to protect these from unscrupulous entities. This is especially true for old, outdated, and unwanted stuff. So before you plan out the specifics, understand what items store business data and require adequate disposal.

Hard Drives

There can be a lot of sensitive data saved on company hard drives. Businesses like yours store a lot of information related to clients, employees, and business projects. You might encrypt each file separately, but if the hard drive lands in the wrong hands, there are chances the data can still be stolen and utilized for ill purposes.

In fact, you won’t believe it, but studies suggest that around 78% of used, resold, and refurbished hard drives still contain the previous owner’s confidential data despite being wiped out. Therefore, simply discarding the drives or leaving them around carelessly in the office space can put your data at risk. For those drives that are no longer needed, utilize reliable media shredding services and eliminate any possibility that can put your reputation at stake.

Flash Drives

Like hard drives, USB flash drives or thumb drives also allow data thieves easy access to your sensitive business information. These drives are easy to lose, and anything that is lost can land in the wrong hands. The two major risks these present include:

• Data leakage due to their smaller size and ubiquity
• System compromise due to system malware, virus, and spyware

You can keep these in locks, use encryption software, or overwrite/ wipe data. But these can easily be stolen, misplaced, and misused for the confidential personal information they may contain. So, you must always exercise caution when storing and discarding flash drives. Also, dead or waste drives can be shredded with other company items to avert any data breach dangers.

ID Badges

Business identity theft actors don’t just scour the web to steal confidential information. Real-world incidents show that it is so much easier to get important data from just an employee ID card. Where, on one hand, ID badges identify and protect your staff, these can also act as a potent gateway for attackers to steal the details they want.

Employee name, code, number, address, building designations, barcodes, QR codes, etc., are some key details visible on any badge. This can leave your business exposed to a data breach and a physical breach.

So, as part of your annual security training, help your employees understand the best practices applicable and how to respond to vulnerabilities if any. Be extra vigilant with the ID badges of employees that are no longer with you. Shred those badges ASAP to destroy unwanted information permanently.

Bonus Item: Business Documents

This one’s a no-brainer – your business documents contain a lot of sensitive information that must be protected from unauthorized access for the safety of your organization. Hence, you must restrict access to all the critical paperwork, incorporate safe paperwork handling policies, and adequately discard those that have served the purpose.

You can look up "mobile shredding service near me" online to get rid of the waste paper, so it doesn’t reach where it isn’t supposed to. For everything else, set up strict protocols on how you can store and discard not just documents but also non-paper items like flash drives that often go unnoticed.

Smart Shred Mobile Document Destruction is a family owned and operated mobile document destruction company serving Long Island, New York.