LinkedIn Data Breach In 2012 Resurfacing With Username & Password Leak

Phising Most Common Data Breach

At Security In Shredding, digital data shredding along with paper shredding both require the correct forms of protection. Providing you with current information regarding data protection and data security is beneficial for our day to day operation and your business operation.

Back in 2012 LinkedIn accounts suffered from a data breach involving 6.5 million accounts which were then sold on-line through black market sites. Recent events have increased that number to 167 million accounts had their username and password hacked. The account details obtained are available for purchase on-line for approx €2,000

It is difficult to know what this data will be used for and who will use it. From various reports regarding the issue, password strength from accounts was inadequate.

According to the report LinkedIn have sent emails to the effected users but with the number of accounts hacked it is possible that not all user’s have being informed. Weather your account has or has not being hacked there are a number of steps you can follow to see if your account has being compromised.

What Should I Do Now?

If you have an account since 2012 and have NOT changed the password since then. It is highly recommended that you change the password immediately.

If your account is newer than 2012 then it will do no harm to update the password to a new unique one in case of a breach occurring.

Added Steps For Security

Updating your password is recommended and choosing the correct type of password is also very important. Follow these steps when creating a password is recommended;

Unique Passwords: All accounts, software and devices used should contain a different password. Avoid repetition with passwords. It is completely understandable that remembering all your passwords can become cumbersome. Remember the more you use the application the easier it will become to remember the password.

Alpha Numeric Passwords: Data breaches(Hacks) occur because people will and have used passwords such as “123456” and “password” and according to the report there were 1,135,936 LinkedIn members using the password “123456”

Use letters, numbers and special characters in your passwords. This helps create unique passwords.

Length = Strength: Most sites will have a minimum character length for password creation along with number and or special character required (varies from site to site) It is recommended to to have a password 15 – 20 characters long to ensure security.

Intel provide a password checker to test the strength of your password.

2 Step Verification: Most of the widely used sites offer 2 step verification login features. This is achieved by a user entering their username and password. They are then prompted to enter a verification code to enter to continue with the login. The code is sent to a user’s mobile or email (randomly generated code) account depending on preference. This added layer of security ensures that if a breach occurs then your account cannot be logged into without the verification.

Data breaches are now increasing in occurrence due to more and more people using digital devices. It is important that you are aware of these breaches first of all and that you implement correct procedures to ensure data security. Data breaches in the long can be harmful to a companies reputation.

At Security In Shredding our confidential document destruction and data security team are ready to take your call regarding any data security issue or data protection enquiry you have. Email us: info@securityinshredding.com

Why Is An Organisations Reputation So Important?

Security in Shredding Data Protection Law

Any business in today’s market must maintain their reputation and paper shredding in Ireland is no different. Confidential document destruction is one of our main business practices. This requires a lot of work and knowledge to maintain but can be achieved.

“The reputation of a business is essential to its survival. The trust and confidence of the consumer can have a direct and profound effect on a company’s bottom line. Recently, the importance of reputation has become increasingly apparent; Reputation is everything.”

Because of this it is very important to protect the organisations reputation. So how do we do this….;

Research & Planning; Use the intelligence you gather to assemble a plan, and think modestly to start.

Monitoring & Listening; You should know what others are saying about you – your competitors and other similar businesses. Monitoring conversation is also important because it will help you uncover complaints and other problems that you might not otherwise know about.

Be Proactive; If your reputation has taken a hit, do not ignore it. Proactively build up a network and work on your reputation when there is no crisis. When an issue hits, launch your own PR campaign.

It can take years to restore business reputation; A study has shown that companies believe it can take 10 months to more than two years to restore a company’s reputation following a breach of customer data.

It’s a calling card; An untarnished reputation will display to customers, employees and partners that you can be trusted. This can assist in generating new business and holding on to existing clients.

Reputation loss is costly; To lose customers due to bad reputation can cost the company dearly regarding both the retention of clients and obtaining new clients.

Data breach connection; Close to 50% of organisations suffer damage to their reputations and brand value as a result of a cyber security breach.

Reputation is easy to damage; So Security in Shredding certainly don’t recommend any organisation to through away one of the most important aspects of business;

  • Dispose of confidential information into marked secure confidential waste bins;
  • Eliminate the mishandling emails or internal communications;
  • Do not use unsecure networks;
  • Not correctly destroying paper or data carriers that contain confidential information.

At Security In Shredding our reputation is hugely important to us. We operate off site document shredding and on site document shredding services in compliance with current data protection laws.

For more information please visit our site and feel free to contact one of our staff for any questions and queries.

Email: info@securityinshredding.com

 

Data Protection & Data Protection Service

Data protection service AND DATA DESTRUCTION

In today’s world “data is king” and protecting that data is queen. A secure document shredding service provide businesses and organisations with confidentiality and security needed to ensure data is protected. Data breaches can be extremely damaging to your business reputation. Get more details about Secure Data Destruction

What is Data Protection? 

“Data protection is the safeguarding of the privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of personal data. The Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 confer rights on individuals as well as responsibilities on those persons processing personal data.”

 

How can I protect my identity?

  •  Keep your documents such as your driving licence, passport, birth or marriage certificate in a safe, preferably in a lockable cabinet or safe.
  • Regularly request a copy of your personal credit file from your financial institute to see if it includes any credit applications you do not recognise.
  • Change of address. You can register with An Post for Irish resident customers (or equivalent if you live outside of Ireland) redirection service to help prevent identity fraud when you move.
  • Be careful in shared buildings, if others have access to your post. Contact An Post if you think your post is being stolen, or redirected elsewhere without your approval.
  •  Avoid throwing documents away which include your name, address or other personal information. Bills, receipts, statements or even unwanted post in your name can be misused in the wrong hands. Where possible, documents should be securely shredded beyond reconstruction, to minimise the risk of criminals obtaining information.
  • Report the loss of any important documentation immediately – for example your passport or driving licence. Inform the organisation that issued it, and if stolen contact the Gardaí.
  • Check your bills and statements as soon as they arrive. If any unfamiliar transactions are listed, contact the company concerned immediately.

How can I spot identity theft?

  • Your bills and statements do not arrive as expected, or you stop receiving any post at all.
  • An important document has been lost or stolen, for example your passport or driving licence.
  • Transactions you do not recognise start appearing on your statements
  • Bills, invoices or receipts addressed to you start arriving, for goods or services you have not requested.
  • You receive statements in your name, relating to accounts that you have not opened.
  • A loan or credit application is unexpectedly rejected despite having a good credit history; or you apply for welfare benefits and are told you are already claiming when you are not.
  • You are contacted by solicitors or debt collectors for debts that are not yours.

What should I do if I think I am a victim of identity theft? 

  • Act quickly. This will help in ensuring you are not liable for any financial losses caused by criminals using your identity.
  • Identify which documents or personal information may be in the wrong hands.
  • Check that you are in receipt of all expected post. Contact An Post if you have any suspicions.
  • If you believe documents containing details of your identity have been stolen, contact your local Gardaí station to report the theft.
  • Contact the organisation who originally issued the missing document to alert them to the situation.
  • Contact other companies that you have financial packages with, to alert them to the situation.

Useful contact details:

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner

Canal House,Station Road,Portarlington,Co. Laois

Email: info@dataprotection.ie

 

An Post

O’Connell Street,Dublin 1,Customer Service Team

Tel: 1850575859.

 

Department of Foreign Affairs

80 St Stephen’s Green,Dublin 2

Tel: (01) 4780822 LoCall: 1890 426 700

 

Central Bank of Ireland

PO Box 559, Dame Street,Dublin 2

Tel: +353 1 224 6000

 

Security in Shredding

Ballyartella, Ballycommon, Nenagh,Co. Tipperary

Tel: 067 24848

For more information on paper shredding services and document destruction please visit out site at: https://www.securityinshredding.com/

Paper Shredding Benefits; Environmental & More

Improve Office Environment Usage

There are many Benefits of Shredding and one reason is the environmental benefit. There are more reasons but in our lives, we use paper extensively in one way or another to record data. Even with the increased use of digital devices paper is still widely used throughout business.

Documents and papers used in companies lose their relevance with time and they are no longer required and one option for getting rid of them is to insert them into general recycling streams. But this is not an effective solution and creates data breach hazards as more and more paper ends up in untrained and unaccountable hands.

The other disadvantage of such an arrangement is that paper and documents used in a company contains highly sensitive information about the clients, customers and the company itself. If manipulative individuals gain access to them from a recycling stream, this can result in company’s secrets getting leaked to its competitors putting its survival at stake. Similarly the confidential customer information may get compromised resulting in identity theft and other damaging outcomes for the customers.

confidential shredding, clean desk policy

To avoid such scenarios, documents need to be destructed in a safe and secure manner. A company can achieve this by hiring services of a Paper shredding Ireland Service which will not only destruct documents securely, but will also recycle them. So the company can use them again in the form of sanitary rolls and cardboard packaging.

Confidential Shredding Service; On site & Off Site

A paper shredding service has security screened and trained men, equipment and transport facilities required for the secure destruction of paper. Such a service provides both on site as well as off site destruction facilities. For destroying papers on site, the service would bring its men and equipment to the company’s premises and destroying them there. Its personnel would maintain confidentiality and security of data and information contained in papers strictly as deeds of confidentiality are signed in order to carry out their operations. They have got the latest equipment which can shred vast amount of documents fast, efficiently and beyond reconstruction.

Security In Shredding on site service

Off site data destruction involves moving the documents away from the premises to some other place and destroying them there and recycling it. The paper shredding service would also provide an auditing facility, so the company can remain assured about confidentiality being implemented during the destruction process.

If you as a company owner or representative want your data to be destructed safely, properly and efficiently for protecting your important information contained in the documents, you should hire a reputed and reliable document destruction service.

By getting your paper destructed and recycled from the service you will not only be able to save your costs, but can also protect your company’s reputation as your sensitive data would not be falling into wrong hands.

Please visit our site for more information and contact us if you have any enquiries regarding our confidential shredding service.

Purge Your Data & Call On-Site Paper Shredding Service

confidential shredding, clean desk policy

Are you searching for an on – site document destruction shredding security provider in Cork? It has become convenient, efficient and cost effective to hire a document shredder in Cork or nationally throughout the region of Ireland as Security in Shredding is providing its renowned mobile shredding service at your premises. It is a responsive service operated by technical professionals.

Destruction of personal data documents and digital data stored in devices such as hard-drives in front of the client at their location is a truly secure service for every organisation. Paper shredding Cork is one of the service providers with automated and technological advancing shredding machines that are operated by experts.

If you are working in an organization and have sensitive papers and confidential data which is no longer required it increases the risk and has proved to be essential to know what actually may happen to them. Shredding them yourself is also an awkward issue due to many reasons. Some major risks with in-house document shredding are;

  • High dependency on workers for all confidential paper and data destruction
  • Time consuming shredding task for employees which can cause conflict of interests.
  • Essential training is required for employees to maneuver paper shredding systems and establish what data to destroy
  • Lack of knowledge concerning paper shredding and data destruction
  • No accountability, in the case of confidential data breaching
  • No peace of mind regarding appropriate data destruction
  • The given organization is open to negligence in the case of a data breach

The responsive on – site document destruction service of Cork security shredding is serving their clients for the past 10 years and proven to be a leading mobile shredding service in the entire Ireland. The Shredding Company is committed to providing their clients with a prominent service of confidential paper data destruction.

An integrated business waste management usually includes data destruction services of Security in Shredding which includes confidential data destruction like hard disk, CD or DVD, USB drive, casino chips destruction, computer backup data shredding, plastic cards such as ATM cards destruction, and all types of tapes such as reel to reel recording tapes and cassettes shredding.

A professional mobile shredding service is now available in your region on your single call whether you require paper shredding Dublin or confidential shredding Cork. Responsive and expert staff are here to ensure clients receive the highest standard and confidential paper shredding services.

The fully automated shredding technology that Cork security shredding holds provides pioneering paper shredding services in Ireland to all the clients in the region

Why Company’s Need To Address Improper Document & Data Disposal

data destruction and collection service

Secure document shredding specialists deal with physical and digital data on a regular bases. How we handle this data is important to ensure confidentially. Confidential shredding and data protection go hand in hand to prevent data breaches occurring.

It is widely known that employees and hackers are biggest cause of data breaches. There have being high profile hacking cases involving employees inappropriately clicking on links that  permits the hackers access to the organisations network and software system.

In order to have an appropriate confidential document and data disposal system in place, you should firstly contact a service provider whom has ample experience in the industry with a 100% clean track record (i.e. an occurrence of zero data breaches). Such a Data Service Provider will be able to answer all your queries and concerns regarding how to implement a secure and efficient document management system – all the way to end of life documents as well as in-house training of staff and policies and procedures. “At the end of the day, you are relying on employees to manage confidential documents in a secure and confidential manner.”

privacy-data-security

In order for one to have piece of mind, a training programme should be established for the induction and on-going training (in-house) for the organisations employees. When the employees understand the importance of efficient and accurate Data Management and Data Protection Legislation; it minimises the risk of a data breach.

When the data reaches its end of life, it needs to be securely disposed of. This is where a certified professional Data Processor like Security in Shredding provides (at the clients choice) onsite and/or offsite data destruction. A company such as Security in Shredding are specialists in the entire area of Data Management. They have an unblemished record and provide a professional, certified and recognised data destruction services.

In order for an organisation to maximise compliance in the workplace, proper appropriate disposal of information has to be made easily accessible for the employee.

Security in Shredding do not recommend placing a recycling bin in close proximity to a printer of copying machine for example as employees can easily discard the unwanted copies or data into the recycling bin. However, Security in Shredding can implement secure lockable consoles throughout the building in specific locations as requested by the organisation and also in close proximity to the copying or printer machines.

If you wish to have a conversation with any of our Data Consultant Specialists, you can pick up the phone and dial +67 24848 or email us at info@securityinshredding.com.

Hard Drive Must Be Destroyed To Ensure Data Destruction

harddrive destruction, Media Destruction, Confidential Shredding Service

All digital data is stored on a hard drive. Weather its stored locally (your own device) or on a cloud server, the data is stored on a hard drive. The device used to access this data be it a computer, laptop or tablet technology will become outdated or slow to use. When the time comes you may wish to get rid or sell the outdated device.

This is where the data risk lies. Before you sell the device you might have deleted all your local data from the device or even formatted the drive. This does not remove the data from the drive.

The fact is there are software programs designed to help thieves extract data even after data has been electronically destroyed.

At the same time, there are other concerns that make secure e-media and hard drive disposal a critical aspect of device security.

Current Storage Drive Trends:

Affordable.  Hard-drives and storage devices in desktop computers, laptops, servers, phones, USB thumb drives, printers, copiers, and other equipment have become widey available and affordable. In 2015, technology companies shipped more than 2.6 billion devices containing hard drives, according to IT research firm Gartner.

Internet of Things (IoT).  Digital data storage and usage is increasing in businesses and organisations. This increased usage means that more and more devices are connected to a network and can increase the risk of data breaches within a network. Protecting against these potential as data breaches are increasing.

Upgrading.  Electronics become obsolete (and are replaced) within three or four years – and that affects BYOD security and other safeguards. We live in a world where the number of mobile devices exceed the number of people in the world. When upgrading ensure that the older device is destroyed or the data storage device is destroyed.

Cybercrime.  Industry experts predict a continued boom in cybercrime. In America the terms of cost, the average consolidated total cost of a data breach rose 23% to $3.8 million in 2014 compared to the previous year. The 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis from Ponemon also showed that the average global cost for each lost or stolen confidential record increased from a consolidated average of $145 to $154.

If it can happen in America it can happen anywhere else. Most of the applications you use will be developed globally and the breaches

Responsibility.  Data Protection is a corporate priority and responsibility. The Data Protection Commissioner is set up to ensure that businesses and organisations are protecting data correctly. The DPC also provides guideline on how to protect your business data from breaches. Guidelines can be read here: https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Guidance-Material-Menu-Page/m/219.htm

Secure document shredding and media destruction companies will provide secure method of data destruction. For more information please visit our site.

 

6 Steps To Improve Your Data Security

privacy-data-security

Data is King. Protecting your data comes in many forms. Your confidential document shredding specialist will securely destroy any sensitive documents. Data protection is equally important as data destruction. IBM are a leading High Tech company and provide you with relevant information and software to improve your security.

IBM Security solutions for data security and privacy provide a holistic approach that helps prevent data loss while enabling data access to support business operations, growth and innovation. These solutions help you ensure regulatory compliance, defend against internal and external attacks, and can lower storage and data management costs.

IBM Security solutions for data security and privacy enable a layered approach to achieving data security that helps you:

IBM also provide a free software for you to assess and detect vulnerabilities. The software will detect weak passwords, any misconfiguration on your database. Read more about it here: https://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/security-guardium-vulnerability-assessment  

While IBM methods deal with digital data the crossovers and similarities can be applied to your paper data. Paper shredding services will also offer digital data protection and knowledge. Knowing these risks and implementing the steps to prevent a data breach will benefit your business or organisation in the long run.

Technology terminology can be confusing to understand but implementing security measures for digital devices is pretty straight forward. For more information on a data protection and security please contact us or visit our site for more information.

Data Protection With Workplace Technologies

Digital Data & Paper data equally important to protect

Your confidential document destruction service is more than just paper data destruction. Digital data also has a secure data destruction method. The devices used to view this data must be properly protected to ensure your data is protected.

Mobile technology increases workplace productivity. Smart phones, laptops, i-pads and other devices allow employees to work regardless of location. As good as these mobile devices are they also increase the risk of a potential data breach too.

So how does an organisation maintain the increase in productivity whilst protecting its confidential information?

Embrace it; The use of mobile devices assists the employees in their efficiency and productivity.

Latest Technologies; By keeping your technologies up-to-date you are ensuring that productivity is not being hindered by the use of out-dated technologies.

CYOD Policy. For improved security control, a Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) policy is recommended. This allows employees to choose devices from a list of approved choices, and companies could equip devices with the appropriate security.

Control of the apps. While apps can improve both the efficiency and speed of specific work tasks; Security in Shredding encourages organizations to provide employees with practical and approved enterprise-grade mobile apps for work.

Digitize. In todays world there is a growing number of organisations whom are digitizing information and processes to reduce costs. But all sensitive data still has to be properly disposed of when it is no longer required. Security in Shredding strongly recommend organisations to out-source the destruction of data when it reaches end of life. A certified data destruction service provider will securely destroy sensitive material when it reaches its end of life. Proper certified destruction guarantees that data cannot be recovered.

Cloud computing. While cloud benefits include cost savings, elasticity, and storage on demand, it still poses a great concern. There are a number of tools available to protect data in the cloud such as encryption and cryptographic tools. Click here to read more: https://ow.ly/hiVq30085uP

Train your employees. All the technologies in the world could be at ones finger tips but the users, in this case the employees need to be taught the best practises. All policies should also apply and be treated of equal importance in the office and outside of the office.

If you require any further information regarding any of the points above, you can get in contact with our Data Management Consultants either through the contact us page or simply phoning us on +35367 24848.

Organising Paper, Sensitive Data & Clear Out Shredding

clear out paper shredding

Secure Document Shredding specialists are recommended for large quantity clear out shredding. That being said it, happens to the best of us, we get a document and say “I’ll deal with it later” and set the document aside. We go back to our work and another document will be given to us or another one is added or set aside. It doesn’t take long before a pile starts to build and the less likely that pile gets dealt with. When we decide to deal with it, the pile has become a more daunting task to clear

If the pile is not organised there is a danger of confidential or secure documents being lost in the pile and data breaches can occur if gotten into the wrong hands.

Ideally setting up an organisation plan before the clutter starts to build makes it easier to implement this process. Clutter for one is an eye sore. Its messy, not organised and can cause stress to you and your office

The dread comes from knowing you need to deal with it, but not necessarily knowing exactly how to deal with the quantity and feeling overwhelmed by what feels like an enormous task.

A single piece of paper is easy to deal with but this post is more to deal with when a pile has accumulated into clutter stack.

Knowing and separating your confidential documents is a starting point. View our What to Shred list and see what documents can contain sensitive data.

Daily & Weekly Paperwork Routine Is Essential To Long-Term Paper Organisation & Reducing Risk Of Data Breach

Actions such as: (1) bin it right away; (2) delegate it to someone else; (3) file it for future reference (meaning no action is currently needed with this paper); or (4) keep it to take some type of action on.

Examples of papers that come into your office that require you to take action include invoices, tax forms, bank statements etc.

This type of confidential paper is often left aside to be worked or filled in at a later stage, creating a “to do pile.” The longer this pile is left to accumulate the bigger the pile becomes creating more stress and clutter. While also being a security risk as a data breach could occur if these documents came into the wrong hands.

Adopting a “Clean Desk Policy” is a good step to deal with clutter and prevent piles from building. Working on documents on a daily basis is a good first step. Do a little everyday will be a lot in the long run. The daily routine will become a weekly routine.

When you combine the daily and weekly routines together the total system for paper organisation will be complete.

What To Do In The Weekly Paperwork Session

The weekly paperwork session is not complicated. First, choose a day that suits your schedule. Doesn’t matter what time or day you choose as long as you do it consistently.

Once you’ve decided on the day, all you do is grab the stack of paperwork that has accumulated over the course of the week on the day you’ve chosen, and now you sit down and tackle it, one piece of paper at a time.

Do the paper work in batches. Deal with enough confidential documents that reduces the pile. It is still business as usual when dealing with the pile, paper is still going to be added but again as long as the pile is getting smaller than bigger is what we desire.

You should consider doing the following tasks during your weekly paperwork session:

  • Pay bills
  • Make phone calls that are necessary about bills, or other information that comes in during the week
  • Reconcile your bank account, confirming what checks cleared during the past week and that all deposits are credited to the account, etc.
  • Make any necessary money transfers between bank accounts.
  • Confirm everything appears to be working normally as it relates to automatic withdrawals and automatic bill pay for your accounts.
  • De clutter, organize and file that week’s receipts.
  • File paid bills and other filing that has accumulated during the week.
  • Deal with any other documents confidential or otherwise.
  • Adding dates to your calendar, both from papers or emails you’ve received.

These tasks deal with paper data but digital data is equally as important to deal with. Responding to emails and other on line services should also be part of your document organisation schedule.

It doesn’t matter how big a pile has accumulated, a paperwork session is about good habit forming done regularly each week.

Once paper organisation habit has formed, it creates a better management of document life cycle and spot potential data breaches and mistakes in the documents.

Off Site Shredding Service Can Handle Large Quantities

Clutter can be dealt with on you desk and around you. There is also an option of availing of a Clear out Shredding ServiceOld or archived documents that no longer serve a purpose that may be in a clutter pile can easily be dealt with by our services.

Security In Shredding offers both On Site Document Shredding and Off Site Document Shredding Ireland. We can handle large quantities of paper and shred them securely. If you want that pile removed quickly and remove the data breach risk immediately,

please contact our team today and visit our site. We operate our Confidential Shredding in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork areas and the rest of Ireland.