Iron Business Security: Prevent Data Theft

Customers will often ask us how they can secure the data on their copier. If your company keeps sensitive data, such as credit reports, social security numbers, health records or business secrets, you can institute safeguards that will further protect that information. Whether you have it on your computer or a copier, it is not only good business practice, the Federal Trade Commission, might actually require it by law.

The digital copiers of today have become a multifunction device that can be used to print, scan, copy and fax. The copiers intended for business use will normally come with a hard drive, and if you do not take steps to protect it, the data can be stolen either through extraction of the hard drive or through remote access. For maximum security, you can either dispose of the hard drive or wipe it clean when selling it.

Before buying a copier, look at the options for securing the data. Your average manufacturer provides companies with methods to secure the data on their digital copier. These features will normally include overwriting and encryption. Nevertheless, overwriting will not delete or reformat the data. You can also add another security layer with a password, which will protect the data even if someone attempts to steal the hard drive.