Cintas Issues Top 10 Tips for Protecting Business Data in Honor of Data Privacy Day
January 27 2010 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
According to the Federal Trade Commission, approximately nine
million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Data
theft is a growing issue that can cost consumers and businesses
millions of dollars repairing the damage to their name and credit
record. In honor of Data Privacy Day, celebrated on Jan. 28, Cintas
Corporation today issued a list of the top 10 tips for protecting
business data. The list provides small to mid-sized businesses with
essential steps to ensure electronic and paper documents remain
secure.
The top 10 tips to ensure data privacy include:
1. Implement a document management program. Identify the
types of documents considered confidential and train co-workers on
responsible information-handling practices. Restrict co-worker
access to these documents and discourage printing of confidential
data unless essential.
2. Implement a document retention schedule. Identify the
amount of time to retain specific documents. Store these documents
in a secure place until the retention period expires. A secure
place restricts access to co-workers who don’t have a need to
access such files. When the retention period is complete, have the
documents shredded by a trusted and certified company.
3. Regularly shred sensitive documents. To protect
sensitive information, consider a shredding service that destroys
business documents onsite on a scheduled basis. These companies
place secure storage containers in easily accessible and
identifiable locations to make it convenient for employees to shred
documents. This limits opportunities for employees to make judgment
calls on which documents should be shredded. If in doubt,
shred.
4. Keep documents securely offsite. In addition to
outside hackers, valuable employee or customer data may also be
compromised. To prevent an unauthorized co-worker from accessing
data, keep non-essential documents offsite, further limiting
potential access.
5. Limit acquisition of confidential customer data.
Review the type of customer data your business collects. Unless it
is integral to the business transaction, avoid collection of
information such as customers’ social security, bank accounts or
driver’s license numbers. If the information needs to be gathered,
restrict access to only those co-workers who need the
information.
6. Use password protection. Protect files that contain
sensitive data, including payroll, customer and financial
information with passwords. Make sure your co-workers change
passwords on a quarterly basis at minimum with a combination of six
to eight numbers and letters in upper and lower case to further the
reduce the opportunity for passwords to be compromised.
7. Install and update virus protection software. Virus
protection software is the first step in preventing a worm or virus
from distributing files or other stored information from a computer
over the network. Make sure employees regularly check for software
updates so computers are protected against the latest virus
threats.
8. Clear data before disposing of old computers. Even if
a computer is no longer used, sensitive data is still available on
the hard drive. Potential hackers or data thieves could prey on
such data. Use software programs to wipe the data or identify a
data destruction vendor that will physically destroy the hard
drive.
9. Review company credit card statements. Company credit
card data can be compromised just as easily as consumer data.
Before paying bills, make sure each employee has reviewed each item
to prevent unauthorized charges. If unauthorized charges occur, be
sure to notify your credit card company all three credit bureaus to
protect your credit.
10. Limit use of file sharing programs. While an
effective way to collaborate and share documents, file sharing
programs can also expose a computer to hackers. If they must be
used, make sure the system is protected by strong firewall and
virus protection software that is regularly updated.
“As identity theft continues to grow, it is important to guard
against potential risks so valuable customer data is consistently
protected,” said Richard Kraus, Six Sigma Black Belt manager of
Cintas. “Data Privacy Day is an opportunity for businesses to
review their current document management programs and make sure
they have the best practices in place to protect company, employee
and customer data.”
About Cintas Document Management:
Cintas Document Management is dedicated to providing total
records and information management solutions for its clients. We
specialize in the off-site storage and management of business
records, offsite backup media vaulting, document imaging, and
secure document destruction services. At Cintas, we've dedicated
ourselves to learning and understanding our client’s requirements
to provide customized solutions to meet industry-specific needs.
With a depth of experience in many market sectors, we put our
hands-on, personalized records management services to work for our
customers, providing peace of mind and allowing them to concentrate
on what they do best.
For more information on ways to protect company data with a
document management program, go to
www.cintas.com/documentmanagement.
About Cintas Corporation:
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation provides
highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Cintas
designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform
programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies,
promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire
protection services and document management services to
approximately 800,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company
traded over the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CTAS, and
is a Nasdaq-100 company and component of the Standard & Poor's
500 Index.
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