Data Security: ree Steps for Getting Your Firm Organized by Pete Lorenco

If you followed the news over the last few months about massive data breaches at a half dozen major retailers, you were likely just as shocked and amazed as I was. It didn't take me long to explore the possibility of this sort of breach occurring within a smaller retail firm or other type of organization that's handling sensitive information.

Consider this: A 2013 report by security company Mandiant notes that overseas hackers are targeting small and midsize companies just as frequently as they hit companies with 1,000 or more employees. What's more, retail is hardly the focus: The manufacturing, information and transportation industries are hackers' chief categories.

Unmoved? Consider the High Cost of Inertia

Protecting customer data can be costly and time-consuming. But doing nothing risks much, much more. Consider these examples:

Industry groups, such as the PCI Council, a consortium of credit card companies, levy fines. A firm with compromised customer files could play $50 to $90 per violated customer file.

States regulate merchants handling credit cards. Just one example: Failure to notify Michigan customers of a security breach carries a civil fine of up to $250 per failure, with a $750,000 maximum penalty, according to Bloomberg Law.

Federal laws like the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act propose fines of up to $5,000 per violation per day with a maximum of $500,000 per violation. If corporate personnel deliberately conceal a data breach, they could get jail time.

Meanwhile, Congress is considering several additional customer-information bills, including the Data Security and Breach Notification Act and the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act.

Staying Out of the Headlines (and in the Black)

Consider taking these three steps to better data management:

Step #1: Get your shredding on schedule. Determine what data you need to keep and for how long, based on federal, state and industry regulations. And don't forget about paper, which includes printouts of your digital records. Team with a trusted partner to set up a shredding schedule with secure transport, a verified audit trail and state-of-the-art document destruction.

Step #2: Store what you need safely. Documents, forms, CDs, backup hard drives and other media containing important but low-priority information are better off in a secure, offsite location than in your store or office back room. An expert partner can also help you develop an effective inventory system so you can access documents quickly and easily.

Step #3: Look beyond the obvious. Copiers, printers and other office equipment often store documents on an internal hard drive. If you swap out the old for the new, you need to wipe those discarded drives and flush the memory on the old units. A trusted partner can help you stay on top of changing technology.

These simple steps are just the first in a journey to build up a defense against loss of customer and company data. They're also the best way to keep all that shock and dread in the news-and out of your business.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2014/service-lines/small-business/data-s...
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