Today Is Data Privacy Day - How Safe Is Your Data?

Have you ever worried about all the data that is stored in your gadgets and in the databases of the companies you do business with? Do you secure the data you collect from your customers?

Today is Data Privacy Day, a day to focus on celebrating the dignity of people and their information. That would be us. :-)

I found out about this celebration from Shred-It, a document destruction company who offered up the folloing checklist for small businesses which identify how you can protect your company and your customers from security breaches, which can potentially lead to identity theft and fraud:

Security policies and training -- People are one of the weakest links in information security: employee negligence or wrongdoing is among the most common causes of security breaches.

• Implement and train employees to follow formal information security policies that protect the private information of employees and customers.
  
• Limit the number of people who have access to and/or handle confidential documents. Be careful when hiring new employees and perform full reference checks and, where warranted, ask new hires to sign confidentiality agreements.
  

Information security strategy -- A focused evaluation of an organization’s operational risks will allow the company to identify common breach points in the major functions of the organization.

• Conduct a periodic security audit to confirm that policies are being upheld.
  
• Identify and seal security loopholes at every stage of the information cycle, from data generation and storage, to the transfer of data from location to location, and document destruction.
  
• Develop a comprehensive strategy to manage unique security risks; target both paper-based and electronic information sources.
  

Paper-based information sources -- A number of security breaches can be traced back to mishandled, lost or stolen paper documents.

• Introduce a "shred-all" policy to ensure that all waste paper is securely destroyed on a regular basis.
  
• Hire a reliable third-party vendor to implement a secure document destruction program.
  
• Make sure the vendor has a reliable shredding methodology and special equipment - do not allow unshredded paper to be stored and/or hauled cross country to be shred at a later date and location.
  
• Request certification that your paper waste has been securely destroyed.

So there you go. You ought to be able to take care of this today, right?