There’s a lot of focus on network security. Hacking and information leaks are increasingly common stories, especially around customer information, credit card numbers, and social security numbers. But physical security should be just as important to individual businesses: even through network break-ins can be larger, physical theft is easier. Protect your documents by transferring them to electronic storage.
Why are paper documents less secure than electronic records?
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You can’t lock down a common resource. If you work in a paperwork-heavy industry, then your employees will be accessing files several times throughout the day to check client information and check historical records. If you have paper storage, that means a lot of traffic through your file cabinets that you can’t track. Commonly used areas are also far less secure: it’s not practical to make your file room restricted if everyone needs to go in it, and that means other people such as visitors, clients, and third-party contractors can get in easily.
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You don’t know who’s accessing the files. If a file goes missing, it could be stolen or it might be simply lost. If someone makes a copy, its usage is largely unaccounted for. While large stacks of paper are difficult to transfer, that doesn’t stop people from accessing the information without leaving a paper trail. Electronic files, on the other hand, can be passively monitored to see who downloads or views a copy, locked down so no one can make copies, and given restricted access settings so different employees can interact with the documents on different levels of security.
Paper documents are impossible to fully secure, even if no one regularly uses them. If you’re protecting personally identifiable information (PII) or other regulated information, switch to an electronic filing system that not only protects but monitors. Go to Imagex, Inc. here to get started.