January 03, 2020

6 Data Security Trends to Observe in 2020

Business is evolving and data protection practices must evolve with it. Information security has changed a lot in 2019, but what will the new year bring? Shred-it has identified some of the key data security trends to look out for in 2020 – to ensure your business enjoys a secure and successful year. Follow these simple steps to remain GDPR compliant and to protect the confidential data of your customers, employees and business.

Extra Employee Training

Many businesses believe that employee negligence plays a major role in data breaches, yet most fail to provide staff with regular training on information security procedures. One focus for 2020 will be to raise awareness and reduce negligence by educating staff about confidential information security and data management policies. This, in turn, will build confidence among your workforce as their ability to identify, handle and securely dispose of confidential data improves.

Safe Remote Working

As working from home becomes increasingly commonplace, businesses are put at greater risk of data breaches caused by human error. To mitigate this threat, have a clear set of remote working guidelines in place, limit access to confidential data and ensure employees who work offsite return any paper documents to the office, for secure storage or secure destruction. Laptops, files and internet connections should also be password-protected with activated security settings and firewalls.

Increased Cyber Security

Last year, cybersecurity dominated boardrooms up and down the country, with a number of high-profile corporations – most notably British Airways and Marriott International – falling victim to the long arm of the GDPR. So, it’s unsurprising that cybersecurity will continue to be a key concern for businesses in 2020. Here’s a few steps your business can take to improve cybersecurity and to ultimately reduce the risk of a data breach and the financial and reputational damage that often follows.

Improved Physical Data Security

But it’s not just online data that continues to be at risk in 2020. From post-its to print offs, even in today’s digital world, so much paper-based, confidential data exists physically in the workplace. Adopt a Shred-it All policy and securely destroy all documents that are no longer needed, safe in the knowledge that documents are securely shredded and recycled. This removes the need for employees to decide what is or isn’t confidential and decreases the risk of human error. For added security, declutter offices and encourage employees to adopt a Clean Desk policy.

Think Sustainability

Sustainability is firmly on the national agenda and the public is increasingly looking to organisations to help tackle major environmental issues, which will certainly be the case as we head into 2020. So, protect your business, safe in the knowledge that you’re also protecting our planet. Our world-class document destruction services keep your confidential information confidential, with all documents securely recycled. Customers on our Regularly Scheduled and On-Demand Destruction Services can also be provided with an environmental certificate every year – so you can see just how many trees your organisation has saved.

Think GDPR

Since its’ enforcement in May 2018, GDPR has had a significant impact on the ways businesses are required to handle personal data. But two-thirds of companies say that GDPR compliance continues to affect them. At the start of this new decade, you’ll still need to make sure the correct measures are in place to ensure confidential data remains confidential – from the lawful obtaining of information, right through to the secure destruction of data. Follow these simple steps to ensure your business is protected against a data breach.

Start Protecting Your Business

We protect what matters and what matters to us is the security and success of your business. To learn more about how we can protect the confidential information of your company, customers and employees, contact us for a no obligation Data Security Survey. Our Data Security Survey is a key first step to ensuring vulnerable areas of your organisation are identified, so you can reduce the risk of a data breach and help to keep your business compliant.