Are You a Home Business Owner in Columbus? Keep these Critical Security Tips in Mind

 If you own and operate a small home business, you may have the impression that security processes are irrelevant due to the size of your organization. Unfortunately the opposite is actually true; document security is of even greater importance when you operate a small home business, and is necessary for your safety. Self-employed entrepreneurs that run businesses in their homes, also have the same legal obligations when it comes to document security and protecting confidentiality.

Small companies are often targeted due to the fact that security implementations can be ignored and thieves know this. They are fully aware that you will be an easy target without document and online security in place.  The 2016 State of SMB Cybersecurity by Ponemo, exposed in one report that 50% of small and medium-sized companies had fallen victim to data breach in the previous year. The most predominant attacks were those that occurred on the web and phishing/social engineering attacks.

With these statistics in mind, nearly 40% of small business owners continue to forget about the crucial security measures that should be in place, and therefore are failing to follow any form of policy in relation to the storing and disposal of sensitive records.

Shred A Way shares how you can improve your home based business’ security:

Evaluate and Assess Possible Risks



• Take a good look at what confidential information you are managing and what your responsibility is to secure that information in relation to data protection laws, and consider whether there are security risks present to address
• Don’t be scared to inquire about or verify security procedures of those companies you are partnered with; this may include your current vendors and/or suppliers.
• Get informed and learn about what cyber threats are real; keep current about potential online threats and ways in which you can safeguard yourself from such security issues.

Turn to Secure Record Storage

• It’s in your best interest to have a document management process implemented that has both retention periods and secure retrieval processes.
• If and when able, it’s best to convert paper documents into electronic copies through professional scanning services. Make an effort to also save information to the cloud or an external hard drive
• Always make backups of any electronic records and keep that stored professionally in an off-site facility
• Keep all sensitive documents in lockable filing cabinets or drawers.

Purge All Documents Containing Private Information

• As mentioned, by law you must manage confidential information in relation to compliance requirements.
• Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to “Save” all of your old files; know which records require secure storage like contracts, invoices, accounting and tax papers, receipts, billing, expense forms, and client information, and simply turn to document shredding for the remaining records.
• Schedule a one-time purge service for papers that need professional destruction. Ideally this should be completed on a month to month basis to limit the amount of documents piling up at home.

Dispose of Sensitive Documents Securely

• Securely shred all documents that are no longer necessary to keep. Partner with an outside shredding company who follows strict industry standards and can guarantee your security through professional solutions.
• A shred-all policy may be the perfect answer in reducing the possibility of human error and poor judgement about what files should be shred.

Work with Shred A Way

Find out how the team at Shred A Way can keep your home-based business secure and compliant! Get in touch with us for a free quote or to learn more about our document shredding solutions.

Call us today in Columbus at 706-577-9668