The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that, in 2012 alone, 16.6 million Americans were victims of identity theft. The number is increasing, and the problem is only intensifying with commercial business hacks and major data leaks. Small businesses, in particular, are apt to become targets for hackers. Hackers realize that mega-corporations are tightening their efforts. Though the prize is massive, it may be too difficult to go after. On the other hand, a hacker can target 20 small businesses a lot easier and reap close to the same rewards. It is a frightening world for small businesses that are having to deal with new problems.
A surprising number of data leaks have little to do with computer infrastructures. The information is not coming from a secret firewalled database but rather from a trashcan in the local office.
What is electronic shredding?
Very little content can easily disappear online. There seems to always be a trace of it somewhere. Take, for example, the recycle bin on a desktop computer. When a file is deleted, it moves to the trashcan. A user then has to go into the trashcan and delete all contents for it to be removed at that time. The document is still saved as a trace file in the directories where it could theoretically be brought back by a savvy computer expert. Furthermore, the computer can be backdated to a previous date, which would turn up all documents deleted since that particular date.
Electronic shredding does not just involve ridding of documents. It includes getting rid of traced documents and anything that could be used to recover the document down the road. Hackers are finding these traces and taking advantage of them.
Securing the Border
The electronic document is often sitting there waiting to be exploited. Under the right guise, it could be resurrected and harnessed to steal client data, predict reports, and sell to competing entities. A quality source will secure the network, remove links to electronic documents, and make sure a company is enforcing the law of privacy and protection.
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