The Impact Of Your Data Storage Practices On Security

Ensuring your company’s data is secure is an essential part of your job. But with new threats popping up every day, it can be difficult to determine what practices and processes you need to implement in order to stay up to date—and it’s equally as difficult to assess how your current data storage and protection systems are working to safeguard data in the long term.

If you’re ready to take a closer look at your data storage practices and maximize their ability to protect your data, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for a few simple things you can do today to make sure you’re keeping every piece of private data under lock and key.

1. Reevaluate your Security Strategy

Is it comprehensive? Does it cover every device, including printers and scanners? As we’ve talked about before, these devices have hard drives that store information—and they can be hacked by outside forces, compromising the data within. 

We get it: it’s easy to overlook printers when developing a security strategy. Compared to other issues (cloud technology, unsecured wi-fi, and BYOD policies, just to name a few) secure printing can seem like small potatoes. But they all store valuable data, so it’s essential to make sure these devices are all included in your strategy.

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2. Implement Tiered Systems of Protection

While a “more is better” approach isn’t always what you need, a multi-layer security system can help protect you against many of today’s more sophisticated threats. Today’s attacks are often multi-pronged, designed to exploit many different vulnerabilities, so a sophisticated, integrated protection system is the best way to prevent attacks.

A tiered system of protection isn’t as difficult as you may think, but it does require a deep understanding of how different security measures work together, what different vulnerabilities each layer has, and how others make up for them.

Assess your current protection systems, and then integrate them. Elements of a tiered system you may already have on hand include consistently updated passwords, port prohibitions, encrypted data, and firewalls.

3. Physically Secure Your Data

And don’t roll your eyes at us for reminding you! There’s a real history of breaches. For example, the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital reported that a microfiche record of patient data that was supposed to be destroyed was found in a park.

If you stopped reading at “microfiche” you made a real mistake. Even if you’ve graduated to more sophisticated technologies, are you taking care to physically secure backup tapes, recovery drives, company-owned laptops with proprietary information, and other items containing valuable data? Sometimes the best way to keep data secure is to literally keep it under lock and key.

We’ll help your company to create an incredible print security strategy so you can have true peace of mind. Schedule a free, no-strings-attached conversation with one of our friendly team members.

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