PART OF FULFILLING A PUBLIC SERVICE AS AN INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL IS GUARANTEEING THAT YOUR CLIENTS’ DOCUMENTS ARE SAFE BY USING SECURE DOCUMENT STORAGE

Regardless as to whether you are a solicitor or accountant, if you hold a position of trust, it is paramount that you make sure personal information cannot enter the public domain. Secure file storage is important.

Information and data that is not stored securely can certainly prove to be disastrous to the individuals involved, so making sure all your archived documents are 100 per cent safe in secure document storage facilities is a must.

There have been a number of serious mishaps involving sensitive key information relating to thousands of people in recent years.

DANGERS OF NOT USING SECURE ARCHIVING

According to the BBC, in August 2008 a Home Office contractor lost a computer memory stick which contained details on tens of thousands of criminals. It included details on 10,000 offenders and information on all 84,000 prisoners in England and Wales.

The mishap prompted a full investigation, and questions were raised on what safeguards were in place at that time.

The BBC itself is not immune to losing precious data, either. That same year, the corporation apologised after a USB stick, containing the details of hundreds of children who had applied for a TV show, was stolen from a vehicle.

Also, in October 2008, public sector news website “publicservice.co.uk” reported that a senior civil servant appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, charged with leaving sensitive documents about al-Qaeda and Iraq on a train.

These examples show just how easily personal data can become compromised because of theft, poor procedure, and carelessness; basically the lack of a file archiving procedure.

Criminals can use this data in so many ways, so it is imperative to make sure that any information or data entrusted to you is secure; failure to do so could mean you are compromising the good name of your company. This may well have disastrous effects for your clients.

Secure records management is not a luxury, it is a necessity to ensure peace of mind for both you and your clients, especially with such a marked increase in the use of technology and paperless data.