Handling Sensitive Information
Sensitive information, including confidential information or information that is for internal use only, should be handled with care. A lot of times, your organization’s sensitive information may include information such as intellectual property, trade secrets, or security configurations. It’s important to take caution when handling this information so that you can protect yourself and your organization from cybercriminals.
Follow the tips below to help protect sensitive information:
Properly Dispose of Documents
When you no longer need to use a document, make sure that you properly dispose of it. Instead of placing a document in a trash bin, use a shredder to shred the document. If you place a document in a trash bin, cybercriminals can easily search through the bin and find the document. Then, the cybercriminals can easily read and steal any sensitive information on the document.
Clean Your Desk
Look around your desk. How many documents are laying on your desk, available for someone to grab or view? Be sure to clean your desk to protect sensitive information. If you’re not using documents, put them away in locked drawers. Cybercriminals could impersonate maintenance staff and cleaning crews to steal documents off of your desk after work hours.
Encrypt Your Digital Documents
Does your organization give you a laptop or other electronic device to use for work? What would happen if that laptop or other device was missing or stolen? All the documents on the device could easily be read, copied, or sold. To prevent cybercriminals from accessing and stealing your documents, consider encrypting sensitive documents. If your documents are encrypted, cybercriminals will be less likely to read them. If you suspect that sensitive documents have been lost or stolen, immediately tell your manager.
If your organization's sensitive information was stolen or lost, your organization could be at risk of paying fines and losing trust. Protect your organization's sensitive information like you would protect your own social security number, credit card information, or healthcare information.