This is the Most Sensitive Information that Document Destruction Protects
August 30, 2018
What would be the most damaging information about your business if it was to fall into the wrong hands? A business bank account number? A list of your suppliers’ company names? The name and address of a lead that you scribbled down?
Many people don’t understand the importance of corporate document destruction. One reason is that they don’t realize how easily the information on a document can put their company at risk.
In the case of the three different sets of information listed above, it can be tough to decide which would be most sensitive. The company’s bank account number could literally give someone the keys to the vault. A list of your suppliers could be very valuable to you competition. But how sensitive is a single personal name and address?
Personally Identifiable Information is Highly Sensitive
If your business lost one of its bank account numbers, there can be relatively little risk to corporate security. The number itself doesn’t reveal the business name, which bank its associated with, or even that it is a bank account number.
Your list of suppliers in sensitive. If your competition knows where you get your materials, they can use that information to undermine your supply chain. But, again, in the absence of information identifying that these are suppliers, and that they are your suppliers, the loss of the information itself might not increase risk.
But, in the case of a name and address, an ambitious identity thief can use the information to completely steal a person’s identity, drain bank accounts, take out loans, book travel and so on.
That fact also reveals another way we don’t fully appreciate the implications of information on any document. If that name and address is scribbled down on a tiny post-it note, it poses the same risk as if it was on an invoice.
Document destruction isn’t about getting rid of old paper, it’s about lowering your corporate risks. Contact Papersavers to learn more