6 Strategies for Keeping Personal Info Safe at Work
In the age of technology and advancement, it’s never been more important to be aware of how your privacy and personal information is being handled. While we may proactively safeguard our information at home, this may not be the case in the workplace. By developing and applying specific office organizing strategies around this topic, you’ll hopefully avoid issues with the safety of your personal information and that of your clients. Here are this NYC Professional Office Organizer’s top tips for keeping your personal information safe at work.
Use online tools to share and save passwords
Sending a password via email is an unsafe practice, and they really shouldn’t be stored in a document that anybody could access on the shared drive. The safest course of action to share and save your passwords is by utilizing an encrypted online tool. You can check out LastPass and 1Password as two of the many options available.
Be aware of filing systems
Depending on your office space, it’s possible that long-term file storage might be in a hallway or a room that anybody could access. This is okay for non-sensitive documents, but anything with personal information of employees, customers, or clients needs to be stored in a safer location. Consider a locked room, or at minimum, locked cabinets.
Don’t do personal business at work
It can be tempting to get caught up on bill paying or to check out your bank account during your breaks but try and avoid doing so. Though there’s probably a security plan in place, data breaches can happen at any time and if it unfortunately does happen to your company, everything is accessible – including any web transactions or personal data stored on your hard drive. Play it safe and don’t enter any personal information into your work computer.
Keep offline information safe
Limit the information that you carry with you on a daily basis to only the essentials like your driver’s license/ID and credit or debit cards. Consider locking your handbag or other similar items that don’t fit in your pockets in a drawer or locker. Leave your social security card and other information that’s bulging out of your wallet in a secure location at home. When asked for personal information at work, find out the reason for the request and the plan for safeguarding this information.
Cautiously open emails
Though most of us can spot an obvious spam email right away, it’s possible for an email to come in that looks legitimate but actually contains malware embedded in links or attachments. Use caution, slow down, and make sure you know the sender before you open anything. Remember that email filters don’t catch everything, so be aware.
Create a software policy
Limit the software that is loaded onto company computers to only those programs on an approved list so your system remains protected. You can then control the process for installing the software by creating a procedure where only specific staff is authorized to oversee the installation. Further protect your system by preventing random software programs from being installed on individual computers.
For more office organizing strategies and support, reach out to your NYC Professional Office Organizer today.