At a glance, cyber security and physical security don’t seem to share many similarities. But looking deeper at the two, it becomes easy to understand how cyber security so heavily relies upon physical security to be effective. Without proper physical security, your secure data is only secure until somebody gains physical access to it.
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Lock Server Rooms
A criminal with physical access to your data has the potential to be a criminal with access to your digital data. If server rooms are not properly secured, it becomes easy for somebody with malicious intent to sneak in and either copy or steal your data. To go a step further; it is good practice to restrict access to these rooms to employees that are not required to be in there. Even if strong encryption is used on your data, physical access can make that irrelevant.
Lock Down Work Stations
Work stations that aren’t physically secured can be easily stolen. This means that any data stored upon it is vulnerable. It also means that accounts logged into the machine can now be accessed by the thief. This can be drastic for a business with a strong online presence. Employees should also generally stray away from saving passwords to their machine. Whilst this is more difficult when using laptops, the damage can be reduced by using passwords and encryption to log into machines. However, when not using laptops, it is best to lock them away somewhere safe.
Keep Things Tidy
Whilst not an obvious go-to for security, a tidy desk is one with secure data inside. With an untidy work area it becomes easy to leave important documents out in the open to be easily thieved. Whereas a simple five minute clean will allow you to lock away or hide these important documents and keep them safe. This also does apply to your digital work-space! If files are left floating on the desktop it can be easily to take them off your computer, but files hidden away in relevant folders or password protected can be a good deterrent to a digital thief.
Shred Unnecessary Documents
Not only does this one touch upon laws your business is required to follow, but it is also good practice. Under laws such as the Data Protection Act your business is required by law to delete any information on people that is no longer relevant. Of course it is always best to be 100% sure that the information isn’t needed first; it could cause issues if the information was still required!
Use Security Guards
If your company has a particular focus on its digital presence your digital information may be the heart of your companies operation. If this is the case, hiring a security guard can be them most effective method of securing your data. A trained guard will not just help physically secure your computer hardware, but serve as a deterrent. A thief will almost always think twice before trying to overpower a guard or to even try to sneak past. If you’re looking for a guard to look after your business, see what’s available.