Cybersecurity Has a Physical Side: Protecting Information Beyond the Screen

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a time when businesses are reminded to take a closer look at how they protect sensitive information.

For most organizations, cybersecurity brings to mind strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, firewalls, software updates, and employee training. Those are all important pieces of protecting your business. But cybersecurity doesn’t stop at the screen.

Sensitive information exists in more places than your computer network. Printed documents, archived records, old hard drives, retired devices, and even paperwork sitting on a desk can contain information that needs to be protected.

That raises an important question:

What happens to your information when you’re done with it?

The Physical Side of a Data Breach

Think about how much sensitive information moves through a business every day.

Employee records may contain Social Security numbers and banking information. Customer files can include names, addresses, account information, and other personal details. Financial reports, invoices, medical information, contracts, and internal communications may all contain information that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Some of that information exists digitally. A lot of it doesn’t.

A strong cybersecurity strategy should consider information throughout its entire lifecycle, from the moment it’s created or received to the moment it’s securely destroyed.

Paper Still Matters

It’s easy to overlook paper in an increasingly digital workplace.

Documents get printed for meetings, customer information gets written down, old files accumulate in cabinets, and paperwork can end up sitting on desks or being tossed into recycling bins.

Once sensitive information is printed, your firewall can’t protect it.

Having clear procedures for handling and disposing of confidential documents can help reduce that vulnerability. Secure collection containers and scheduled shredding programs also give employees a simple, consistent way to make sure sensitive documents are handled appropriately.

Old Technology Can Still Hold Valuable Information

Replacing a computer or retiring an old hard drive doesn’t necessarily mean the information stored on it is gone.

Hard drives and other electronic media can retain sensitive data even after files have been deleted or devices have been taken out of service. That’s why proper destruction of retired electronic media should be part of an organization’s information security plan.

Physical destruction helps ensure information stored on obsolete media cannot be recovered or accessed later.

Want to learn more about what happens to data after you hit delete? Read our guide to secure e-media destruction in Maine and New Hampshire.

Don’t Forget About the Records You’re Keeping

Protecting information isn’t only about destroying it. It’s also about knowing what you have, where it is, and how long you need to keep it.

Without a consistent records management and retention process, organizations can end up holding onto sensitive information longer than necessary. Boxes accumulate. Filing cabinets fill up. Digital and physical records become harder to track.

A defined records retention strategy can help organizations securely manage information while ensuring records that have reached the end of their required lifecycle are properly destroyed.

Make Information Security Easy for Your Employees

Even the best security policy only works if employees can follow it.

Employees shouldn’t have to decide whether a document is sensitive enough to shred or wonder where confidential information should go. Clearly defined procedures, secure collection containers, employee education, and consistent destruction schedules can help take the guesswork out of information security.

Making the secure choice the easy choice helps build better habits across an organization.

Cybersecurity Doesn’t End at the Screen

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, take a look beyond passwords, software, and firewalls.

Ask yourself:

• Where does sensitive information exist throughout our organization?
• How are confidential paper documents handled and destroyed?
• What happens to old hard drives and electronic media?
• Do we know which records we’re keeping and why?
• Do employees have a simple, secure process for disposing of sensitive information?
• Can we document when confidential information has been destroyed?

Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting information while you’re using it. It’s about protecting that information throughout its entire lifecycle.

At Records Management Center and Shredding On Site, we help businesses throughout Maine and New Hampshire securely manage information from storage through destruction. From records management and secure document shredding to certified e-media destruction, our team can help make the physical side of information security one less thing your organization has to worry about.

Ready to take a closer look at your information security practices? Contact RMC/SOS to learn how we can help protect your information through every stage of its lifecycle.