Taking a proactive approach to document security

Cybersecurity is a threat, no matter the size of your business or the industry it occupies.

However, if your business is proactive about security, it’ll be far better prepared should a breach occur - particularly if it relates to document management.

To effectively monitor the valuable documentation your business stores, you’ll need to rely on threat intelligence and analytics that enable you to see:

• who’s accessing the document;
• the level of access they have; and
• what they did with the document (i.e. did they print, email or scan it?).

Making documents part of your overall strategy

Given the importance of documents in your business and the likelihood they’re used daily by employees, it’s important for them to be a part of the wider strategy.

For instance, an invoice may look innocuous, but it contains sensitive account data and represents revenue for your business. In the wrong hands, it can cause serious problems.

This is why you should think in terms of the data your documents contain and who might have access to it.

Documents are part of a much wider life cycle these days, which involves the cloud, mobility and devices. Viewing document users or devices in isolation may result in security risks being missed - particularly if they arise early on in a process.

The relation between MPS and secure document management

Document management security and Managed Print Services (MPS) are naturally linked because the latter reduces endpoint vulnerability in three ways:

1. Security configurations are more easily created and monitored.
2. Remediation becomes automated, thus increasing accuracy and consistency.
3. Intrusions can be tracked in data, documents and devices.

With a proactive MPS plan, your business can monitor it’s entire ecosystem, from device level into deeper applications and IT infrastructure.

Add to this user analytics services, and your security program will enable you to see who’s printing what and when. This data is powerful, and will enable managers to prevent misuse of documents that might create potential risk.

The more you know how people use documents and devices, the more important MPS will become in your security plan.

Let’s talk about secure document management

Document security should be a conversation you regularly have with your MPS provider.

To find an MPS partner who is proactive about security, you’ll need to ask how long they’ve been in the document management space, the level of skill they possess in-house and whether or not they’re able to react to the many different security threats with tailored solutions.

Document security evolves constantly, therefore the preventative measures your business takes to mitigate risk can’t be static. Work on this understanding, and you’ll form the basis of a proactive document management line of defence.