Fighting Identity Theft: What Are The Most Vulnerable Places In Your Workplace?

Corporate identity theft costs American businesses up to $48 billion every year. While many data breaches are caused by hackers determined to access your company’s information, up to 28% of data breaches happen because of human error.

The good news is that, with the proper precautions, you can keep those errors from affecting your company’s reputation this holiday season. But, before you can strengthen your company’s security, you need to know what your key vulnerabilities are.

That said, here are some of the most common vulnerabilities companies just like yours need to be on the lookout for.

Messy desks

Many offices choose to instate a clean desk policy to reduce the risk of identity theft and lost documents. Clean desk policies require employees to have a clean desk area that’s free of important documents.

While not having a clean desk policy isn’t a bad thing, a messy desk leaves paperwork out in the open for thieves and visitors to take advantage of. Make sure to enforce any policies you have about keeping confidential information locked away after hours, especially during the holiday season.

Copy machines and printers

Copy machines and printers are also a vulnerable area in your workplace. Employees may print important documents and not go to retrieve them immediately. This leaves confidential information susceptible to theft.

Implement security codes on your printers and copiers and ensure your employees are going to the printer to retrieve their documents immediately.

Recycling bins

Paper shredding is one of the most effective ways to keep your company safe from corporate identity theft. But, it isn’t enough to place your documents in a recycling bin while you wait for your shredding service.

Documents can easily be taken out of the recycling bin and stolen. Be sure that you’re using secure bins where employees can recycle their documents while waiting for your shredding service to pick them up.

Where can I find a Portland shredding services near me?

In 2016, one out of every 16 American adults were the victims of identity theft. The Portland shredding services of Data Safe can provide your company with a one time document purge or regular shredding to ensure your employees and clients are safe from identity theft.

To learn more about ongoing scheduled document shredding or to schedule your document destruction, contact Data Safe today.