6 security measures for every business

No matter how green, eco-friendly and paper-free you want to make your business, there will almost always be paperwork of some form or other on your premises. Whether that be sales records, invoices, receipts or client information, wherever there is data in any form, there is always a risk of your information being stolen.

So, how do we protect our sensitive files, both physical or electronic, from falling victim to thieves wanting to profit from them? Improve your security measures that is how:

1. Physical security

Firstly, you should look for a locksmith in Newcastle providing local businesses with services to help secure physical files on your premises. This can be in the form of strong boxes and file cabinets with pick-proof locks that can only be opened using special keys held by trusted keyholders. You can find a locksmith in Newcastle providing checks to your building security and who will fit new locks to your doors, windows and gates. You can never be quite sure how many previous owners have kept an old set of keys that could fall into the wrong hands.

2. Security cameras

Installing CCTV around the perimeter of your premises is always a good idea. You can either employ a service to monitor your live CCTV feed 24/7 from their operations centre, or for smaller business premises, it may be enough to set up a camera system where an alert is sent to your smartphone with live feed should your security alarm be triggered. You can then call the police to attend immediately to catch the burglars in the act.

3. Safely dispose of documents

Even old files may contain some valuable information for criminals to use. When disposing of paper documents yourself, use a micro shredder to completely destroy documents. Micro shredders cut paperwork into 3,770 tiny pieces instead of more common shredders that only cut paper into 300 even pieces.

4. Secure courier services

When you need to send sensitive and important documents outside of the office, rather than trust them to the standard postal system, hire a secure courier service to make sure your documents are escorted by professionals who’s job it is to watch your files. While your documents are in their possession, they are completely responsible for their safety. There is absolutely no risk of them getting ‘lost in the post’ and ending up who knows where.

5. Cyber security

You should also make sure that you secure your system network. Most offices that run networked computers have security measures in place that prevents anyone saving sensitive data onto individual hard drives. This helps to stop valuable data being carried out of the building on laptops, tablets and on portable storage drives.

6. Virus protection

It goes without saying that you need to have good virus protection, firewalls and secure back-up systems in place. Theft of valuable sensitive data is not only a physical threat, it is also present online through malicious attacks, often with the sole purpose of destroying files and causing disruption rather than actually stealing of information.