16 Tips to Keep Your Company’s Information Secure

16 Tips to Keep Your Company’s Information Secure

Securing confidential information requires more than a set of rules, agreements and policies. It requires daily diligence and the ability to recognize potentially risky situations.

Every day we inadvertently do things, like leave a document in the printer or on a computer monitor that is visible to others. These can cause serious information security breaches. Good office security requires more than just locking the door. Here are 16 best practices that you can use right now. (I’m sure you can think of more.)

Online

1. Social networking accounts should have a strong password, and never share these passwords with anyone or re-use it for other sites.

2. Use social networking sites with stronger authentication, such as two-step verification.

3. Use encryption called HTTPS to secure your connection to social networking sites. Some – such as Twitter and Google+ — have this enabled by default. Other sites require you to enable HTTPS manually via account settings.

4. Be suspicious of email that claims to come from a social networking site. The safest way to reply: Login to the website directly, perhaps from a bookmark that you saved.

5. Be wary of malicious links on your social networks. Just because a message is posted by a friend does not mean it is from them, as their account may have been compromised.

6. Third-party applications (such as games) on your social sites may have full access to your account and private information. Only install apps that you need, and are from well-known, trusted sites. Remove them when you no longer need them.

7. Position your computer screen so others can’t see confidential information.

8. Protect your passwords.

Hard Copy

9. Properly classify documents, according to your information security policies. (You do have policies on information security, right?)

10. Always use the confidential destroy bin or shredder when discarding documents that contain confidential or personal information. Never use the waste basket.

11. Don’t leave documents with confidential information lying on your desk or in conference rooms. Secure them in a locked file cabinet or desk drawer.

12. Do not delegate tasks to other employees who may not be authorized to view the document’s content.

13. Remain at the copier or printer when confidential documents are being copied or printed. If the device jams, stay with the machine until all the papers are removed from the jam.

Common Sense

14. Play it safe with your ID badges and office keys.

15. If you see an unfamiliar face roaming around your office, step up and ask if you can assist.

16. Never leave confidential information in a voice mail. If you cannot speak to the person directly on the phone, leave a generic message.

Securing information is everyone’s responsibility and awareness is critically important. Use the comments section and let me know how you keep your information secure.

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