Category Archives: Off Site Shredding

10 Threats Against Data Security For Small Business

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privacy-data-security

Bigger companies incorporate off site data destruction practices, small businesses often don’t have the financial resources to house large scale IT departments, purchase the latest and greatest technology or invest into data security.

Many a cash-strapped small business finds itself operating its critical systems on computers that are old, slow and often times insecure. This leaves them susceptible to a wide array of security pitfalls and privacy threats, including data leaks and identity theft.

Fortunately, beefing up your security doesn’t necessarily mean draining your bank account. There are many inexpensive options to improve the security of your small business and protect your information.

Geoffrey Arone, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of SafetyWeb, gave his take on 10 very real threats facing small businesses and how they can be addressed in ways that are free or inexpensive.

1. Data Breach Resulting From Poor Networking Choices
Enterprise-level networking choices that are found in large IT departments around the world carry costs that price small or medium businesses out of the market. SMBs that have networks often use networking devices targeted at home users. Some may forgo the use of routers at all, plugging directly into the internet.

Business owners can block most threats by using a quality router, like a NETGEAR or Buffalo brand router, and making sure to change the router password from the default to something more secure.

2. Data Breach Resulting From Improper Shredding Practices
Trivial as it may seem, dumpster diving identity thieves target businesses that throw out paperwork without shredding it. Your small office shredders will NOT suffice for a secure document destruction, but a industrial paper shredding company is a wise investment if private or sensitive information is printed and shredded daily.

3. Identity Theft Resulting From Public Databases
Individuals, especially business owners, often publish lots of information about themselves in public databases. Businesses are registered with governments, telephone numbers are in the phone book, and many individuals have social media profiles with their address and date of birth. Many identity thieves can use information obtained across various public forums to construct a complete identity.

4. Identity Theft Resulting From Using A Personal Name Instead Of Filing An OA
Sole-proprietors that have not registered a business name to receive “operating as” designation are at a far higher risk of identity theft due to their personal name, rather than their business name, being published publicly.

5. Tax Records Theft Around Tax Time
Businesses should ensure that tax returns are dropped off at the post office and refunds are collected promptly from the mailbox. Identity thieves often steal tax returns from an outbox or mailbox.

6. Bank Fraud Due To Gap In Protection Or Monitoring
Business owners know that it is vital to balance their accounts every month to ensure that checks are not being written out of business funds by embezzlers, but many businesses rarely, if ever, check what kind of credit accounts have been opened under the business name. Monitoring services like myID.com can alert business owners when new credit accounts are opened fraudulently.

7. Poor E-mailing Standards
Many businesses treat e-mails as confidential communications, but this is far from the case. They are available to a number of people other than the recipient. It’s more appropriate to treat e-mails as postcards, rather than sealed letters.

8. Failing To Choose A Secure Password
In fact, many security experts are recommending the use of a pass phrase, rather than a pass word. Pass phrases are several words long, at least three, and are far more secure than passwords. A pass phrase like “Friday blue jeans” can be typed far quicker than a complicated password, and it doesn’t need to be written down on a post-it. The length of a password increases security.

9. Not Securing New Computers Or Hard Drives
Businesses that had their IT system professionally installed may opt to upgrade a computer or two by themselves. This is strongly discouraged on a business network, as new computers must be professionally secured or else they pose a serious threat and an entry point for hackers.

10. Social Engineering
Social engineers are individuals that call and claim they are from another organization. They may even claim to be with a firm that a business owner does business with. If someone you do not know calls on the phone, be sure that it is the person you think it is before revealing passwords or confidential information.

For more information on a paper shredding or confidential document shredding service in the Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin area, please visit: https://www.securityinshredding.com/

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Clear-out Shredding & File Purging

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clear out paper shredding

We all know the saying “A clear space a clear mind” and clutter builds quite easily without you realising. A document clear-out of old documents is available. At Security In Shredding we offer an excellent clear-out shredding service both on site and off site shredding is available.

De cluttering your office space will give many positive benefits for yourself and work colleagues. For a number of reasons listed below:

  1.  Gives back your space

Paper documents take up space. While you might only leave few documents lying around, over time these build up into large piles. This takes away space in the office that could be used for a better purpose. If the documents are in a pile this could mean that a) the documents served their purpose and no longer in use and b) its and not an organised pile. If this is the case then it is time to hire a secure shredding service.

  1. Eliminates dust and mites

Any item left idle for an extended period of time will gather dust. Dust presents its own problems. For some people dust can cause asthma flare ups. There can be other factors that cause asthma flare ups but with a clear space will make it easier to clean the area and prevent dust from gathering.

With dust comes dust mites. These bugs are microscopic to the eye and are everywhere. Not necessarily representative of a dirty office but can cause irritation to people with asthma.

  1. Large quantity removal in one easy process

We receive a massive amount of documents over time. Be it brochures, newsletters, advertisements and or your own documents on top of that. Most likely these will get recycled but the documents that are left around that had a purpose and were kept as reference. After a while we can forget what was left where and newer documents get put on top of the old.

There is a potential here of sensitive data getting mixed in with these documents. Chances are it won’t happen but in case there are confidential documents then hiring a on site secure shredding service will remove all your documents in a large quantity.

At Security In Shredding we regularly preform clear-out shredding of documents and confidential documents. With all this new space available there will be “so much room for activities.”

Please visit our site and contact our team for a consultation about clear out shredding. Please like and subscribe to our social media. Join the conversation and

Follow us on Twitter here: @SecurityInShred

Firms Not Insured For Data Security Breaches

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Security in Shredding Data protection & destruction

This topic is becoming more and more common. Shredding confidential paper is widely accepted practice for Data Protection. At Security In Shredding we understand the benefits of document shredding.

We also believe in have a proper digital data destruction system in place for your business. The Data Protection Act requires you to ensure your data is maintained and is not vulnerable to Data Breach.

A recent report from Risk:Value NTT Com Security, questioned 1000 non IT-Business across the UK, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and France asking if they had insurance to cover data security breaches. 1 in 10 had data protection insurance.

With the increase in Cyber attacks globally and small businesses are targeted. It not just activists attacking multi national corporations. Any business if vulnerable may be attacked. It pays to have the adequate insurance in place. Now more than ever does this kind of insurance become applicable. With mobile devices, tablets and hard drives widely available, people are not as aware of the pitfalls of these devices regarding Data Security.

An Insurance policy will help against Data Leaks and Breaches. Data Protection methods must be in place as there may be certain criteria in place to be covered by the policy.

Risk Management Policy

Having an insurance policy in place is fine nothing wrong with it but Data Security comes down to your business having security measures in place that prevent data breaches. How your business handles sensitive data and who has access to it must be business practice.

The disposal of data must also be considered, a confidential document destruction service can be incorporated. These services can be availed on site or off site with collection available. Depending on your business location will effect what type of service is used but confidentiality is paramount when operating.

Digital devices should be password protected and encrypted where available. Sending emails and texts can now be encrypted end to end which will improve your Data Security in public areas. Whatsapp a free SMS messaging application that offers encryption which is a simple but easy protected communication service.

When devices are no longer in use it is recommended that these devices are destroyed if they are no longer in use.

Document Shredding Services Ireland

At Security In Shredding we offer secure shredding service for your Data Protection needs. Please Like, Subscribe and Comment to our blog.

 

Reasons why having a “Clear Desk” Policy is beneficial for businesses today

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confidential shredding, clean desk policy

A clear space, a clear mind. Paper shredding is a good habit to help clean up and also protect your data. Confidential document shredding service will help you clear out unwanted paper and documents that may have built up over the years.

(Shred your waste paper data)

It is the time of year for new beginnings, new healthy practices and in the business arena new accounting years. Even though we advocate best healthy practice we will now take a look at kick-starting some best practices for housekeeping within your place of work.

When looking around in your offices; are you looking at paper documents stacked in areas to be “Got to at some stage”, as we have begun new healthy habits in our personal lives it is also a great decision to look at implementing a clean desk policy also known as “waste paper procedure” within your offices.

Similar to a clean eating policy where you maintain clean and healthy macronutrients entering your body, a clean desk policy will direct your employees in maintaining a clean desk at all times during their working day.

We are all aware of the benefits of having a clean working area, “a tidy space equates to a tidy mind” however, a clean desk policy will also empower your Organisation to protect data in line with Data Protection Legislation.

Simple guidelines to protect your working data, whether the data is sensitive commercial data and/or personal sensitive data is to;

  1. Passwords and encryption upon electronic data carrier
  2. Have lockable cabinets within your office areas
  • Other suitable secure storage if/when required
  1. Once any of the data has been used and is no longer required you should insert it into secure consoles (Cabinets) awaiting destruction.

A well detailed and structured “Waste paper Procedure/Clean Desk Policy” really is of serious benefit to any Organisation and protects you in many ways such as;

  1. Saved money and resources
    Using a clean desk policy and having a certified vendor saves money upon downtime for staff in destroying old data
  2. Protect your Organisations Data and improve upon internal data flows

Detailing to staff that data digitalisation is the new company policy you will save money upon printing costs, increase efficiencies in data transfers and maintain business competitive with new data storage technologies.

  1. Data Protection law compliance
    It is essential for business to comply with the relevant Data Protection Laws in their jurisdictions, this includes not leaving it resting upon desks for casual bystanders to see the details; the Organisation in turn is protected from receiving for non-compliance fines and penalties
  2. Reduced data breach risk
    When private and sensitive information is protected from unauthorised view, there is less likelihood of information theft, fraud or a security breach, the costs of which can run into the £millions – in fines, reputation damage, and lost business
  3. Create a stronger reliability within your firm
    Ensuring that sensitive information is not left on desks will provide management with peace of mind that possible insider fraud is reduced to a minimum risk.
  4. Create a positive working environment
    As previously covered, a clean and tidy work space results in a clean and tidy mind enabling employees to be happy and consistent with their work duties and create an overall positive atmosphere within your workplace.

For more information, handy tips and beneficial help; Join the conversation on information security with Security in Shredding on Twitter @SecurityInShred.

Why should SME’s outsource the destruction of it confidential documents?

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Onsite document destruction

Secure document destruction is an integral part of business practice. Shredding confidential paper can be done by your business but hiring a certified and secure shredding service will benefit your business long term.

Firstly, outsourcing means just what it says — going “out” to find the “source” of what you need. Many companies regularly outsource areas of their business such as document management, payroll, Human Resource Management, cleaning to name but a few.

There are many benefits to outsourcing;

  • Reduction of costs;

Having your own company staff perform tasks that is not their core duty can result in the miss-management of company time resulting in companies paying above the market rate for that task.

  • Efficient Resources;

An outsourced service provider such as Security in Shredding provide an excellent cost structure and economies of scale resulting in giving the client a competitive advantage.

  • Allows the company to focus on core areas;

The clients trained skilled employees are left to focus on their core areas and duties resulting in a continued performance level from the employees and clear objectives are established and adhered to.

  • Save on infrastructure and specific technologies;

As a result of employing an outsourced service provider, you are reducing the cost of wear and tear on company equipment when choosing to outsource to a professional Data Destruction Service Provider.

 

  • Access to skilled resources;

 

A good outsourced service provider like Security in Shredding takes pride in the level of professional work they do. Security in Shredding  have the resources, in-house trained personnel and experience to carry out the task to the highest standard – EN 15713 and hold ISO 9001 certification.

 

  • Eliminating risk;

 

If you employed Security in Shredding as your data destruction service provider; they would manage the risk and eliminate the risk of data breaches and assist with the internal efficient management of paper data within your organisation.

As a result of the demand for outsourced Document Shredding, Security in Shredding has developed certified shredding equipment with the highest level of security shredding technologies available in Ireland to date. The shredding technologies are certified to Shred No. 6 of the EN 15713 shredding standard.

Security in Shredding have ample knowledge and expertise when it comes down to the management and secure certified destruction of data; so search no further. .

Give Security in Shredding a call and they will assist you with the management of your paper data as well as the secure, confidential and certified destruction of paper data. We cater for all size companies ranging from 1-10 employees to 10 + employees and Security in Shredding’s destruction services are nationwide so call us today on +35367 24848. The Security in Shredding team is looking forward to your call.

Please visit Security In Shredding website for more information:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/

Onsite & Off Site Paper Destruction Service

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Security In Shredding on site service, Onsite shredding service

At Security In Shredding we provide excellent and secure service in both onsite shredding and onsite collection with off site shredding. Providing paper shredding in Ireland with a high quality service.

Din 66399 Standard

We operate under this standard. The Din requirement is in place and provide 3 separate shredding levels for your data destruction. The level of protection will depend on the how fine the paper is shredded.

  • Din level 1
  • Din level 2
  • Din level 3

The type of documents used will depend on the level of security you should implement. Documents containing a low threat and low impact would require Din level 1. Sensitive data restricted to a small group of people would require Din level 2 as if these documents were leaked would cause harm to a business. Din level 3 should be used for highly confidential data only accessed by authorised people.

On Site Mobile Shredding

This service is beneficial if you require your documents to be securely shredded on business premises. Our specially designed vehicles will securely destroy your documents. The entire process is done securely and is environmentally friendly where all waste is sent to a licensed waste company. More information can be viewed here:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/onsite-document-shredding.php

Off Site Document Shredding

Our off site service is also done to a high standard of security. We operate on a scheduled basis and our staff will collect the bags from a secure area within the business premises. The bags are collected by uniformed staff on a set time and will inform you if they are on route. The bags are placed into a locked secure van and taken to our site where it is shredded. Full details of the process can be viewed here:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/off-site-document-shredding.php

IT & Media Destruction

Data is not just paper data. It comes in many forms and digital data and the devices used also need to be destroyed in a secure manner. Digital has has become more and more popular and data protection of these devices needs to be implemented.

https://www.securityinshredding.com/it-media-destruction.php

Our aim is to provide you with a high quality and highly secure service, with minimal impact on your day to day business activity while maintaining your data security. For more information please visit our site or contact us for a consultation:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/

Shredding Documents Before Recycling Them

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Data Protection, Paper Shredding, limeirck paper shredding

Paper data still plays a major part of industrial paper shredding. It is important that you are Shredding confidential paper before it is put into recycling. This is to ensure that your data is protected and cannot be viewed by public eye.

Paper like any other recycling is often left in the blue bin outside your home or business for it to be collected. This is a common practice and nothing wrong with it. If your recycling contains documents of a personal nature and or sensitive data nor for public knowledge, how it is disposed needs to be taken into consideration.

It is quite easy to access anything contained in these bins and within an urban area someone in a “white van” and a high vis jacket could pull up and throw these bags into the van. What they do with these documents may be unclear but can be malicious intent. Having the documents shredded before it is recycled will increase your data security.

Shredding Documents

A good practice for your business to incorporate is to shred your document before you put them into recycling bin. Also to be aware that a simple office shredder does NOT provide adequate data destruction. This data can be reconstructed. An industrial paper shredding service provides you with secure paper shredding. Incorporating a service to handle and destroy your documents should be used.

Scheduled Onsite Collection

A reputable shredding service will provide you with a collection service to handle and securely destroy documents you have. Ringing your shredding service provider and organising a collection at a time specified by you will ensure that you know when your documents are to be transferred.

A shredding service can provide you with sealed bags for collection and shred them in off site paper destruction location. A shredding service can also provide onsite shredding service with their specially designed trucks to handle and destroy these documents.

Data Protection

Under the EU directive the data protection act and the data protection commissioner are governing bodies in place to ensure that businesses handle data correctly and ensure sensitive data is used in a correct manner.

For more information on a reputable shredding service in Ireland please visit:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/

Responding To Data Breaches

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Secure Paper Shredding Hard Drive Shredding WEEE Destruction

Paper Data;

Without a confidential document shredding service in place for shredding documents and media devices. Your company or business may become under scrutiny for not having these defensive measures in place to begin with.

It is common practice for a business to securely deal with paper documents in its handling, who can access it and how it is destroyed. Most businesses and organisations will incorporate a reputable paper shredding service and these processes are all above board.

Digital Data;

This trend is still widely used but not with the increase in use of mobile devices globally. Digital Data has become the preferred use of displaying data. How this information is used and the potential of this information being misused. Issues regarding digital use to be an “IT issue” but this is now no longer the case. Data Breaches and leaks have become more and more common due to lack of cyber protections in place. Lack of knowledge for one about cyber security is one factor that causes these issues.

Data Protection

A Data Protection strategy for digital and paper documents must be implemented throughout a business. There are governing bodies in place and bodies localised to your business and is worth knowing what procedures are in place for data protection. In Ireland the Data Protection Commissioner is a governing body directive from the EU.

“The office of the Data Protection Commissioner is established under the 1988 Data Protection Act.  The Data Protection Amendment Act, 2003, updated the legislation, implementing the provisions of EU Directive 95/46. The Acts set out the general principle that individuals should be in a position to control how data relating to them is used.”

The DPC provides guidelines for data protection and methods. If these measures are in place before a data breach occurs, it can save face for a business reputation and wont be scrutinised for not having these measurements in place to begin with.

The DPC site offers guidelines regarding Data Security both physically and digitally and the guidelines can be viewed here.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Guidance-Material-Menu-Page/m/219.htm

An Industrial Paper Shredding Service will provide you with credible Data Protection service please visit our site for more information:

Email us at info@securityinshredding.com

The Disadvantages of Office Shredders

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Paper Shredding

Data Breaches and Data Security go hand in hand and a incorporating a confidential shredding service will benefit you and your business significantly.

As a result of people becoming increasingly aware and vigilant of their confidential data and conscious of what readable files are disposed off in their bins, small office shredders are consequently on the rise. Many offices have an office shredder tucked in the corner or next to the printer; but in reality these small devices are putting your employees at risk, draining your time, compromising your security and also shredding your money so to speak.

Whereas if you outsource the destruction of your documents to a certified data destruction professional you are eliminating the length of time an employee has to spend feeding the small office shredder, eliminating a data breach, managing your end of life documents efficiently and appropriately reducing the amount of down time an employee spends in the working day.

Is an office shredder safe?

An office shredder is no shortage of blades, cutting knives and teeth moving at a few thousand RPM and it is usually placed in an easy to access area for people to use it. An office shredder cannot tell the difference between a paper and other items, such as:

  • Stray clothing e.g. ties, blouses/ shirts
  • Jewellery
  • Long sleeves
  • Fingers
  • Hair

People don’t realise that if a piece of paper gets stuck in a shredder; most people go to the power point to turn it off. What if it is battery powered? Would you know the shredder was completely powered off?

It’s easy to see how with no training, such a simple device can be a danger to a first-time user.

Time Consuming

The typical office shredder will boast a shredding power of between 3-5 sheets at a time, sounds acceptable but if one is shredding a 30, 50 or 100 page document will soon become a wearisome and time consuming task. Office shredder Manuals will have illustrated  that staples, paper clips or other tough bindings must be removed prior to shredding. Taking these out one by one and checking through pages and pages of paper for stray staples or clips is more time consuming than one might think.

Confidentiality

Why shred the documents you might ask?; The primary reason for shredding your documents should be to maintain confidentiality and security and ensure zero data breaches occur. Many standard budget shredders will cut paper into roughly 40-50 strips, which may seem like a lot, but it wouldn’t take a smart and determined criminal too long to re-assemble 50 strips of an A4 piece of paper and restore it to a legible condition.

Therefore by employing a registered Data Processor whom is a certified shredding service professional to complete all your data destruction requirements; will not only free up employee time but eliminate risk of a data breach and maintain the high level confidentiality that you require.

Cost

It’s difficult to put a cost figure on the security of your information, which is why a professional, efficient and secure shredding service is always advised. The actual cost of an office shredder may initially appear as a cheap investment in comparison to the cost of the services of a certified, registered shredding service provider but from employing a Data destruction service provider you will have little or no employee down-time, guaranteed destruction of documents and 100% total piece of mind.

The shredding service provider removes the shredded paper material from the clients location and transports the shredded material to the licensed waste recycling facility and off-loads the material as part of the cost.

If you’re thinking of making the change from an office shredder to a registered, certified, professional data destruction service provider, you can contact us for our professional advice and affordable prices.

For information on a confidential shredding service please visit:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/

When To Disclose A Data Breach

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iCloud security wake-up call, data brach

Secure document destruction methods must be in place to comply with Data Protection laws. A confidential document destruction service will benefit your business and its Data Protection.

Technology has brought us accessibility to a global market and small businesses have benefited greatly from this boom in technology. With a greater number of devices connected to an online service has also meant that a increase in the number of cyber attacks. Small businesses in particular are now being targeted.

A report from the Wall Street Journal has shown that small law firms are targeted the most due to the potential high profile client base they may have. That being said law firms do not usually hold social security information and the information obtained by hackers may not be beneficial to them.

Under American law, law firms are required to inform the public that a breach has occurred.

Data Protection Commissioner

Under Irish law the Data Protection commissioner has Data Breach guidelines for you and your business to follow. If a breach occurs it is paramount that the matter is dealt with swiftly to minimise damage. Data Protection Commissioner data breach guidelines can be found at the link below.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Data-Breach-Handling/901.htm

The document informs you on what steps to take if a breach has occurred. With this guide you can easily follow the steps needed to take and the information to provide when informing the Data Protection commissioner.

“Failure to comply with these obligations can result in a criminal prosecution with fines up to €5,000 indictment €250,000 per offence.” 

The document also state “Prevention is better than cure.” Setting up company policies and practices for handling of sensitive data should be implemented immediately. A reputable Shredding Service will also improve Data Security within your company. A shredding service will be able to provide an onsite shredding service. Confidential shredding is paramount to shredding services.

A reputable shredding service will comply with the protocols provided by the Data Protection Commissioner. It is a governing body to help protect your personal data and the data of others.

Please visit our site for more information on a Confidential Shredding Service:

https://www.securityinshredding.com/

Full Article Wall Street Journal Report:

https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/03/30/when-do-law-firms-have-to-disclose-data-breaches/