As the deadline to go paperless draws near for federal government offices, the topic of document digitization has come to the forefront for many businesses as well. It’s not surprising, as the reasons and benefits for digitization keep growing.
The need to reclaim valuable office space from overstuffed filing cabinets, provide increased security for sensitive documents, and become more eco-friendly can’t be ignored. Many businesses are aware of the benefits of going paperless, but aren’t sure how to make the transition without exposing their confidential documents to increased risk during the scanning process.
The Dangers of Paper
While cybersecurity is certainly an important consideration (more on that in a moment), it’s vital for businesses to understand that paper documents are extremely risky. They are often stored on the premises with little more than a filing cabinet lock to protect them. As such, they are in constant danger of being lost, stolen, or destroyed in a fire or other natural disaster.
Fortunately, digitizing your sensitive documents can be a safe and secure process with just a few simple steps.
Scanner Security
The first step for ensuring the security of your documents is to limit the number of people involved in the scanning process. The fewer people are involved, the less likely it will be for documents to be misplaced or viewed by unauthorized personnel.
Make sure that the scanner you’re using isn’t on a public network. Many scanner models save a temporary file of your scans. Check your owner’s manual to learn how to delete these files as soon as you’re finished scanning.
Document Encryption
With your documents securely scanned, it’s time to implement the first of a two-step encryption process: encrypting the digital documents. If you’re scanning your records into PDF format, you should have the option of password protecting the file. There are also many other software options available online.
Unfortunately, this brings up a new problem. You’ll need to choose a password that is both secure and that you’ll be able to remember. This might be a good time to research password manager programs. For a fee, these programs can help you generate secure passwords, store them securely for easy retrieval, and even help you update passwords as needed.
Cloud Encryption
Now that your files are encrypted, we can move on to the second step of the encryption process: storing the files on an encrypted cloud server. This is the digital equivalent of not only locking the filing cabinet but also locking the door to the filing room.
You’ll want a document storage solution that’s compliant with the security standards your business requires, such as HIPAA, Sox, FINRA, etc. This ensures that your documents are safe and that you won’t run into any liability issues down the road.
Go Find It’s Document Scanning Solution
Now that you’ve got a plan in place to securely scan your documents, it’s time to get started. Not looking forward to all of that scanning? With Turbo Owl from the Go Find It suite of digital document solutions, you can scan and upload multiple documents at once directly to your Go Find It storage.
Find out how Turbo Owl can help you scan your confidential documents.
