Best Security Reasons for a Paperless Office – Clean Desk Policy
Research shows 55% of business information theft in a workplace occurs within the victim’s work area.
Protect confidential information and reduce risk of a data breach by implementing a “Clean Desk” Policy for your organisation.
Remember the Panama Papers data leak?
Over 11 million documents related to the tax affairs of the world’s rich and famous were leaked, and shared with large organisations including the Guardian and The BBC.
Cyber security experts warn that this kind of scandalous data breach will happen again because of the growing reliance on computers, and the issues of protecting information from being leaked, hacked, or stolen is an on-going problem.
While there is so much focus on cyber security, it’s also important to implement physical safeguards, including secure storage for paper documents.
The top mistakes businesses face that lead to a security breach:
- Not having a “Clean Desk” policy
- No data encryption
- Failure to provide sufficient laptop and mobile device security training for staff
Best Security reasons for a Clean Desk Policy…..
A “Clean Desk” policy instructs employees to clear desks and offices of visible information at the end of every workday, and to be conscientious about protecting information throughout the day.
There is an increased risk of information theft, fraud or security breach when confidential information is in full view on monitors, paper documents on a desk, left in printers, fax machine or even on post-it notes.
The 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report showed that 55% of data theft in a workplace occurred within the victim’s work area.
Ask yourself:
“Can temporary staff, contractors or visitors, pick up information as they leave your offices?
Could they steal information that has been left out, or could thieves break into the workplace and steal vital business information?”
EIGHT “Clean Desk” Policy Guidelines 
1. Make the policy official
Put it in writing and ensure all employees have read and are familiar with its contents, and have them sign it as part of their employment contract.
2. Make the policy part of on-going security awareness training
Not just for full-time staff, for your contractors, sub-contractors and temporary staff. Make safe guarding business information training available to anyone who works at your offices. Failing to keep your employees up-to-date with company security will compromise your organisation, regardless of the amount of investment in IT protection.
Most data breaches occur due to the “bad guys” being able to take advantage of employees who don’t know company security policy. Employee error contributed to almost half of all security incidents, while malware contributed to 20% and hacking represented just 11%
3. Extra emphasis for staff using mobile devices
Stress the importance of protecting information at all times. Mistakes include taking sensitive data home, leaving confidential information behind in meeting rooms, on public transport or in full sight on desks.
Click here to download the full “Clean Desk Policy Guidelines” White Paper