Safeguarding Your Business from the Risks You Can’t Afford to Ignore

A data breach can happen faster than you think, and the damage can last for years. You may be able to train your employees to change their passwords regularly or to exercise caution when opening links in emails. But it only takes a stolen hard drive, a misplaced file, or a document tossed in the trash to make life uncomfortable. A minor mistake can expose your business to significant risks, including legal costs, lost customers, and reputational damage. The good news is that many breaches can be prevented with proper safeguards in place. The most effective and affordable way to reduce your risk is to use secure, professional document shredding services.

Understanding the Real Cost of a Data Breach

Running a business requires having a handle on various aspects, and very few of us have a data breach on top of our to-do list. There are clients to help, employees to manage, and equipment to buy. However, if your company suffers from a data breach, everything else falls off the list while you try to recover. Understanding how and what happens can help you protect your business:

1. Things that happen during a data breach: When sensitive or confidential information is accessed, stolen, or exposed without permission, a data breach has occurred. The source of the data varies, including digital records, paper documents, and even old devices. Here are a few ways this happens:
   1. Paper files are thrown away instead of being shredded
   2. Old hard drives are sold or recycled without being wiped
   3. Employees leave sensitive papers unsecured on desks or in unlocked cabinets
   4. Lost USB drives or laptops fall into the wrong hands 
2. The financial costs of a data breach: Data breaches can cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars. For small businesses, it can mean shutting their doors for good. The costs come from a variety of aspects, including:
   1. Legal fees and investigations
   2. Regulatory fines for violating HIPAA or FACTA laws
   3. Customer notification and credit monitoring services
   4. Downtime and lost productivity
   5. Loss of clients or contracts
3. Damage to your reputation and customer trust: There are many reasons to shred your documents. The main reason is that when customers trust you with their information, they expect you to protect it. One data breach can shake that trust and drive your clients to your competitors. You can rebuild your damaged reputation over time, with effort, and with the right financial investment. Even one incident can cause long-term harm to your brand and business relationships. It is especially serious for companies in healthcare, finance, real estate, or legal fields. They have regulatory mandates for privacy and confidentiality.

Prevent Data Breaches with Professional Shredding by Crown Information Management

No matter what industry you’re in, protecting company and client data should be a top priority. Crown Information Management offers professional shredding services to help protect your company. We provide hard drive and digital media destruction, as well as routine shredding services, with flexible pickup options including weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedules, to keep your shredding process on track. Whether you prefer on-site or off-site shredding, we ensure your documents are securely handled.  After every job, you’ll receive a Certificate of Destruction as proof that your documents have been properly destroyed. 

For experienced help with media destruction, scanning, indexing, shredding, records management, and document storage, call Crown Information Management. You can reach us at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to learn more about our services. Let our team work for you and help your organization avoid a data breach. We are a SOC1, NAID AAA, and PCI-certified company.