Are your documents secure through their lifecycle?

Documents remain an important mechanism for information flow across, and beyond, an organisation. But how can you be certain that the documents you generate always reach the right person at the right time?

Sometimes, the easiest way for unscrupulous individuals to extract sensitive or personal data from your business is to print or copy it. And while it’s true that IT operations often overlook printers and scanners as potentially vulnerable links in data security, they’re just one part of the story. In an increasingly digital world, all document processing devices and activities – from document creation through to disposal – must be integrated with strong data security and formal workflows.

The importance of document protection was highlighted by the Gemalto report, which surveyed 9,000 consumers across the globe – including UAE and Saudi Arabia. Sixty-six percent surveyed said they would be unlikely to do business again with companies that have exposed financial or sensitive information. Furthermore, the major legal implications of the new EU Protection Framework – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – means organisations must get serious about mitigating risks associated with the governance of sensitive information.

Security red flags

Aside from financial consequences, a data breach can lead to loss of customers, damage to brand reputation, and leaking of R&D secrets. While an electronic document management system can mitigate the loss of information through paper-based processes, it doesn’t guarantee the security of your documents. Some of the most commonly-seen ‘red flags’ in document security include:

• No formalised security plan: Businesses often lack a documented plan that details all security measures and procedures. Such a plan should include networks, devices, folders, and documents, and be easily understood and communicated to all employees, partners and vendors.
• Lack of user visibility and control: Do you have full transparency over document flows? Without a way to monitor and regulate document access and usage, document security will be difficult to implement.
• Lack of mobile security: The vast majority of people now access documents through mobile devices. Unsecured mobile networks offer hackers an easy backdoor to your corporate information.
• No backup plan: Many businesses fail to perform regular and automated backups, despite the risk of data loss always being present.
• No regular security auditing: With technologies evolving at a fast pace and hackers and cybercriminals getting smarter and more sophisticated, it’s important to regularly review and test all your document security methods.
  

The biggest challenge faced by businesses is that of managing their information effectively. Whether you run a large enterprise, medium-sized business or a small-scale startup, effective document protection is key to successful operations and survival.

Protecting your printed and scanned documents

Most organisations depend on documents to fulfil their business activities. However, most have yet to adopt formal policies, supported by up-to-date technology, that reduce the risks associated with use of documents in business-critical activities.

This starts with understanding that there are many ways to process a document. Do you have processes for converting data held in documents into business actions? Have you considered outsourcing tasks like forms capture to an external partner? Alternatively, are you considering in-house document processing to keep your data safe?

Canon’s unifying network print and scan management protects document data using a range of flexible approaches – including secure print release and scanning, secure guest and mobile printing, direct guest Wi-Fi, output management, and data logging, tracking and archival using the latest Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and keyword scanning technologies. Our document management software is available through ready-to-use, scalable cloud technology that grows with the needs of your business. For larger enterprises, Canon combines the industry’s largest portfolio of office document services hardware with award-winning management and workflow tools.

Every business document can potentially be exposed to a vast number of devices, networks, and stakeholders throughout its lifetime. Implementing end-to-end document control and transparency will help to reduce failure rates and protect your business, while improving productivity and saving costs through automation.