A Short Guide to Keeping Business Documents Secure
The modern age means businesses generate and store more data than ever, including customer records, financial data, and intellectual property. While not physical, this data is just as valuable as any other asset, so it’s essential to protect it from theft, loss, and unauthorised access. This article provides an extensive guide to keeping business documents secure, covering both digital and physical storage options.
Categorising Documents by Sensitivity
Documents can be split up into different categories depending on their sensitivity, which allows you to tailor security measures to each risk. This helps to ensure the most sensitive data is protected from modification, unauthorised access, and disclosure.
The majority of organisations use three categories to split documents into, which look like this:
Public: This includes documents that are accessible to the general public. Think marketing materials, public financial reports, and product information sheets.
Internal: These are intended for use within the organisation, including meeting minutes, employee handbooks, and sales proposals.
Confidential: These contain sensitive information that could harm the company if breached. Examples include customer lists, financial records, and intellectual property documents.
By analysing documents and splitting them into these categories, businesses will be compliant with laws and regulations and avoid litigation. As well as this, arranging data in this way allows businesses to make informed decisions regarding security and resource allocation.
Physical Document Security
Electronic data is essential in the digital age, but physical document security is still essential for protecting sensitive information existing in paper formats. Businesses must implement strict measures to protect physical documents from unauthorised access, destruction, or theft.
Physical documents should be stored in dedicated areas, whether it’s a file cabinet, document room, or secure vault. It doesn’t matter what the location is, these areas must be secured with high-quality locks and access controls. For example, it’s a good idea to require employees to log visits to the file location, which can then be used during investigations if anything goes wrong.
Electronic Document Security
Protecting documents secured electronically is equally as important as physical document security. Here are some common methods for keeping digital files secure:
Antivirus and anti-malware software: Install and update antivirus and anti-malware software on every device. These programs keep away malicious software that could compromise sensitive data.
Password protection and authenticity: All accounts and devices need strong passwords. Encourage the use of multifactor authentication to add an extra security layer.
Encryption of sensitive data: Whether resting or in transit, sensitive files should be encrypted (scrambled data to avoid unauthorised access).
Regular backups: Backup data to secure off-site locations. This allows you to restore systems quickly without losing vital data.
Using Secure File Formats
Sensitive documents should be stored in a secure file format to reduce unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure to others. One of the most secure file formats are Portable Document Format (PDF). This format is read-only, which tracks ownership and prevents editing. However, you can convert PDFs to Word Docs for easy editing. Even though it’s possible to convert pdf to word, you should note that the latest changes are documented within the PDF, meaning your documents are secure from tampering.
Other popular secure file formats include:
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language isn’t secure in itself, but it can be secured using encryption or embedding within a secure container.
OOXML: Office Open XML is a new format for Microsoft Word documents. Unlike older formats, this version can be secured using encryption, making it difficult for unauthorised users to gain access.
TIFF: Tagged Image File Format is a lossless image format that preserves quality without compression.
Protecting Data in Transit
When sending files without proper security measures, it leaves them open to interception and unauthorised access. Secure file transfer protocols, VPNs for remote access, data encryption, firewalls, encrypted communication platforms, and regular patching are all essential measures to strengthen transit security. As well as this, businesses should train employees in data security awareness.
Protecting Data from Human Error
Human error is one of the most common causes of data breaches and other security issues. Even though technical measures are crucial, businesses must be prepared to train employees to mitigate the risk of human error. Here are some common areas to cover during training:
Phishing awareness: Recognising phishing websites and emails and avoiding clicking on suspicious attachments or links.
Password management: Avoiding weak passwords, using MFA, and implementing strong password practices.
Data disposal practices: Properly disposing of physical and electronic documents to avoid leaving data exposed.
Social engineering: Learning to identify social engineering attempts, such as fake urgent emails or support calls.
Data handling procedures: Following strict data handling processes to avoid leaks and disclosures.
Security Audits and Reviews
Security audits and reviews are an essential part of maintaining a strong data security position. When businesses understand what’s happening within their digital landscape, they’re in a better position to enforce compliance, identify potential vulnerabilities, and recommend improvements. As well as performing regular security audits in-house, it’s a good idea to have an external professional take a look at the infrastructure; they may find vulnerabilities you missed.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Businesses are subject to a comprehensive framework of data protection laws and regulations, including the Data Protection Act, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). These regulations are supposed to protect privacy and ensure user data is handled securely and fairly.
There are a lot of moving components when it comes to legal and regulatory compliance, which can make it challenging. Appointing a data protection officer is one of the most effective ways to ensure compliance. These individuals are experts in all things regulation and compliance, and their job is to keep your website operating within the confines of the law.
Businesses must hold data security in high regard. Not only do the robust measures outlined above help prevent downtime and legal disputes, but they also help keep customer information safe and secure. Additionally, operating without digital issues helps to establish trust and generate new business.