Business documents are an inevitable part of any business and they are needed to complete a variety of things such as insurance claims, hiring new employees, plus so much more. Many businesses organize their business documents using software from companies like IOTEC (https://iotecdigital.com/services/document-management/) but many businesses also do not think about their need to be well protected when they transfer documents from one place to another. They can contain vital and confidential information about the business. They may also contain employee and customer details that cannot be shared publicly. They cannot fall into the wrong hands or go missing, as it could cause legal problems. So how can you secure these documents? Is there a way to make sure they remain safe and confidential? There are many ways actually. Let’s take a look.
Accompaniment
If documents have to be transferred by hand, they need to be accompanied by security. Depending on the documents, the security will vary. Documents may need to be transferred by a senior employee who can be trusted. If the documents are even more important than that, guards may be required. Plain clothes or uniformed guards may depend on the situation. If the aim is to transfer them discreetly, a small group of uniformed guards would not be the best idea.
Fax
So long as both parties are at the fax machine when the document is being copied, it should remain safe. However, faxing is quite troublesome in some cases. If the connection is briefly lost, it could stop the document transferring temporarily. This could mean after a retry the lost connection could still somehow make its way to the fax machine. Then there would be a secondary copy of the documents out in the open for anybody to take. An mbox digital fax doesn’t have these problems. It is unconfined by lost signals and paper jams, and whatever other physical issues a fax machine can have.
Digital Security
If these documents are digital, they need to be encrypted in some form before being transferred. Digital files can be transferred over the internet, or through physical hard drives. If the data is of absolute importance, it needs to be transferred physically. There cannot be any risk of the data being intercepted via the internet.
If you have to transfer the data over the internet, you can try using a private bittorrent file. Only you and the person receiving the data will have the file. The file is imported into the bittorrent client, and then your computer will upload the data in packets that will be reassembled into a usable format once complete. The transfer cannot complete without your computer sending the data though. That computer and the one at the other end of the transfer need to be constantly monitored.
Coded Documents
Both digital and physical documents can be coded. Without the code sequence, the documents will look like nonsense even if they are intercepted. It might be a bit clandestine, but it works. Coded messages aren’t only in the realms of spy fiction. If there is a significant threat of corporate espionage, this is essential to keep business secrets safe. What is essential is that the code sequence is never disclosed. It can be broken, however. Be sure to change the code on a randomised basis to maintain secrecy.
It may seem a little paranoid, but confidential documents need to remain that way. Not only can they harm the business if they get out, but they can potentially harm customers and employees.