Most companies pride themselves on the steps they take to keep their customer's and their employee's data safe and secure. But in many cases this sensitive data is readily available when a company discards their old copier. A 60 Minutes report earlier this year showed how much of a liability these copiers can be if they are not property configured or disposed of after you're done.
Nearly every copier sold since 2002 contains a hard drive, much like the one in your computer, which stores every document scanned or copied by the machine. This means if your copier is resold or disposed of improperly all of your sensitive information: copies of bank statements, checks, tax forms, and insurance statements are available for a thief to view.
In the 60 Minutes investigation they retrieved over 300 pages of individual health documents and 95 pages of checks containing social security information. All of these documents were taken from copiers a health insurance company and a construction company disposed of.
So what can your company do to protect itself? There are two common solutions.
1. Purchase a security kit for your digital copier (MFP).
These security kits act like a paper shredder for your scans and copies; after a copy is made the file on the hard drive is destroyed. This is a must for any company in accounting, legal or insurance.
2. Have the hard drive destroyed at the end of your lease.
Make sure your copier dealer offers a service to destroy the hard drive when you are done with the machine. This will eliminate any secrets that your machine may be hiding.
Take the steps to ensure your customers and employee's data is safe. Don't end up on the next 60 Minutes.
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