Document security has always been a top concern for businesses, regardless of size, location, or industry. The practices for how to keep data safe and secure have evolved over time, and it’s never been more challenging to keep intruders and bad actors away from your sensitive data.
Each of your employees likely uses at least one device to perform their work. If these phones, computers, or even printers and copiers are not secure, it can easily provide a gap that any cybercriminal can exploit. While a comprehensive security solution can help protect your business, even the most secure hardware and software can be manipulated with the right combination of ingenuity and effort.
Fortunately, there are lots of actions you can take to secure your documents and protect your data.
Why Prioritize Digital Document and Data Security?
Before we start to cover our top tips for document and data security in your business, let’s take a moment to talk about why this topic requires such urgent attention.
43% of all cyberattacks target small businesses. However, only 14% of small businesses think they can repel an attack. This leaves millions of companies vulnerable.
Businesses that cannot secure their important information face massive risks, including:
- Financial loss
- Reputational damage
- Legal consequences
- Loss of customer trust
- Compromised intellectual property
- Regulatory penalties
All of these factors can potentially disrupt business operations in a significant way.
How Can You Keep Important Digital Data Secure in Your Office?
Prioritizing document and data security is not just a best practice but a critical necessity. By being proactive and implementing robust security measures using some of the tips we’ve collected below, your business can safeguard its sensitive information, maintain employee and customer trust, and continue to operate safely and efficiently.
Tip #1: Educate Employees About Premium Cybersecurity
As the first line of defense against cybercriminals, your staff need to understand the importance of cybersecurity. By training them regularly on the latest best practices for data and document security, you can help them learn what they need to know to stay vigilant.
Depending on your staff and their needs, this cybersecurity training could vary from providing regular in-person coaching sessions to offering them materials they can read through independently. However you decide to do it, cybersecurity training is vital for anyone working in 2023.
Tip #2: Use a Comprehensive Security Solution
While your employees are your front-line security, that’s no excuse not to back them up with a comprehensive security solution.
This comprehensive solution typically involves a mixture of hardware, software, and best practices that your business can implement to keep your tech stack safe. While your IT department may be able to develop a security solution like this in-house, it’s often preferable to rely on external cybersecurity specialists.
This allows your team to focus on their business-facing work while dedicated experts manage the updates, patches, and maintenance necessary to keep your software, antivirus, and other programs safe.
Tip #3: Establish Rules for Accessing Important Documents and Data
While there are security systems you can put in place to protect your data and documents, they will only work effectively when you pair them with a comprehensive access control plan.
This plan, which involves your team assigning certain access rights to different levels of users, ensures that only authorized individuals can access sensitive documents and data.
By establishing clear rules and guidelines for accessing information internally, you create a structured framework that minimizes the risk of unauthorized breaches or data mishandling. Then, once your access privilege rules are set up, regular reviews are necessary to maintain the security posture of your business.
This access control plan should also be complemented by a multi-factor authentication system. This helps ensure that even if an employee's password is compromised, it cannot be used to steal your sensitive documents and data.
Tip #4: Utilize Cloud Storage Solutions
At the end of the day, security measures like implementing regular cybersecurity staff training and adopting stringent access control policies are useless if you do not have a secure storage solution. It’s the equivalent of putting an armed guard out to protect a house made of paper.
To effectively secure your documents and data, you need to utilize a secure cloud storage solution. This involves choosing a provider that can offer the correct amount of storage as well as best-in-class encryption for all data stored in the cloud.
AOP Offers Secure Business Digital Document Storage in the Cloud
Cloud storage from AOP offers a secure, reliable, and flexible solution that protects your documents while keeping them accessible to all who need them. Depending on your needs, you can host your own files locally or send them to our secure and stable cloud.
Once you sign on to work with us, we can digitize and store thousands of your paper documents starting at as little as $1 per month. Our process is easy to start and offers ongoing peace of mind that your documents and data are protected from threats but still accessible to your staff 24/7.
Read more about our data and document archival services, then reach out to get started today.
