How to Keep Your Business Secure

by Shannon Suetos

Every business has secrets they do not want the competition to find out about. These secrets are guarded through different methods. In the modern age, one of the most obvious ways to protect your information is to protect your computer. You are likely to have firewall protection as well as protection against viruses and other security threats. While this will help to protect a lot of your information, it will not do the trick to protect all of your information. If you are looking at complete business security, you will also have to do something to protect the security of your copier.

Office copiers have evolved since they were first invented. They no longer copy the image directly to the next piece of paper. They perform functions like collating, sorting, front and back copies and serve as network printers as well. The standard copier used in an office does far more than just copy papers. As the copier does more, there is more need for some kind of data storage. This storage capability – while beneficial to you when printing and making copies – can create a significant security risk.

It is important to understand how digital copiers work so that you will understand how your information might be compromised. Modern copiers use hard drives so that information is stored while jobs are backed up or while multiple users send assignments to the copier to use it as a printer. The hard drive is designed to be temporary storage of information. The only problem is that the information is not always wiped clean from the hard drive. When large jobs are sent to the printer, they sit on the hard drive until a new job comes along to take up the hard drive space. This means that if someone looks at the hard drive later, they will discover your information.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the copiers used in most offices do not have any kind of firewall protection. They are susceptible to being hacked by anyone who wants to gain access to the hard drive. This is because your network is hooked up to the printer. This is done through the wires in your office, but they are accessible through the modem lines. Wireless copiers are especially vulnerable to attack.

Protecting your copier doesn’t end while it is in your office. Before replacing your copier, it is a good idea to either rewrite the entire hard drive or to destroy the hard drive. This is the only way you can be completely sure that the information stored on it will not be available to anyone else. This can either be through the company you bought it from or through third party industrial shredders. If you are unsure whether your copier has a hard drive, contact the manufacturer.

Shannon Suetos is an expert writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as phone systems & VoIP service at Resource Nation.