What constitutes a data breach?

pretty common question we receive is what constitutes a data breach? The answer may surprise you because it’s actually a lot more common than you would think. A data breach is the intentional or unintentional release of secure or private information to an untrusted environment. Other terms for this phenomenon include unintentional information disclosure, data leak, information leakage, and also data spill. Any time someone has information that they were not meant to have by the owner of said information, that’s a data breach. Someone looking over your shoulder and seeing your computer screen, that’s a data breach. Someone hacking into your network and stealing client names or other information, that’s a data breach. The term covers such a wide range of happenings that no wonder it’s confusing.  

But happily enough, the actions you can take to protect yourself and your company are ones that can protect you from the big things as well as the little things. Here’s how.  

VPN or Bust 

One of the reasons that many businesses had previously made the switch to a remote workforce is because there is a marked increase in the productivity of remote hires. For those professionals able to set their own schedule, work from their own preferred locations, the time that is spent getting the job done is more focused and productive. There are fewer distractions and workers remain more engaged. Having a team working in a different time zone can help your business stay productive on a 24-hour shift. But if those remote workers don’t have access to the network, they might very well struggle to do their best when their resources are restricted. Also, you risk valuable data loss or vulnerability to hacking by relying on a remote team.  

VPN is the answer to the remote workforce security problems. It provides secure access to the internal network that remote employees need to be productive day in and day out. It furthermore limits risk by ensuring a secure connection while giving your remote workers access to the resources they need. Making sure that remote workers have access to the right information and resources via your internal network is critical but it must be provided with the data security to ensure your sensitive information is kept safe. But with VPN, data security is protected while your workforce can stay in touch just like any other employee. 

Careful Document Disposal 

Workers inevitably create hard copy documents and records that can be a risk if they are not disposed of properly. To protect your business even when working with remote workers, make sure that such documents are shredded (both horizontally and vertically so that reassembly is next to impossible), incinerated, or pulped so that no information is available to unauthorized viewers. 

When it comes to digital files, don’t forget to be equally thorough. Simply deleting the files is not enough. Until that space has been written over, the possibility of recovering data still exists. Similar to shredding important paper documents, one way to ensure that your personal information is not easily accessed is by “shredding” of the individual files on the hard drive. There are many software programs on the market today which can shred files. But it can be confusing to know which one is right for you. 

It can certainly be difficult to make sure that mobile employees are following the rules one hundred percent of the time. However, training them and providing them with the tools they need to be as secure and safe as possible is a clear win for your business. To make it a priority for everyone, make sure you highlight the importance of information security for your remote workforce.   

Monitor the Use of Unsecure or Public Wi-Fi Connections 

If you know your team members are going to be on the road or connecting from public access points a VPN is critical. Wi-Fi connections (in business lounges, on trains, in coffee shops, etc.), can lead to data breaches. But the use of unsecured Wi-Fi is more common than ever. We encourage remote workers to always connect to trusted networks, use VPN, and to never use public Wi-Fi. This helps protect sensitive information and provide extra protection for those working from home. 

Full-Service Records Management

We focus on securing the win-win-win.

Making our clients and employees happy while maintaining a successful business. The records management business might seem kind of impersonal. But at HF Services, like all of the Happy Faces Family of Companies, our number one goal is making people happy.

The Happy Faces Family of Companies was established in 1995 to create a difference in the corporate world and in the lives of the communities that we serve. We are a full-service records management company dedicated to excellence in customer service.

Our growth and development has aggressively embraced new technologies, while maintaining our mission to actively and continuously strengthen our relationships with our customers, employees and the community in which we serve.

Have questions about HF Services Records Management? Ready to arrange a consultation?

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