Author: Crown Information Managment

Whether it sits in digital documents, paper records, or hard drives, your business information is always potentially vulnerable to hacks, breaches and theft. While you can enhance the security of your digital information by investing in sophisticated IT security applications and technology, your physical files and folders do not enjoy the same privileges. This New Year, why not implement formal processes and policies around document management and destruction? Give your businesses the opportunity to:

When it comes to protecting customer’s personal information, Florida means business. The Florida Information Protection Act (FIPA) which came into effect in mid-2014 applies to every business and government entity that stores the information of Florida residents. Essentially, this act: 

• Expands the definition of ‘personal information’ that every entity is legally bound to safeguard
• Establishes stricter breach notification protocols than most other states in the US.

It is that time of the year when most of us start gearing up for the upcoming holiday season. Planning parties and get-togethers with family and friends? Looking forward to escaping the cold and vacationing at a tropical retreat? No matter what your holidays look like, there will surely be plenty of shopping involved. Did you know that the holiday shopping season sees a huge spurt in cyber crimes and physical thefts? According to a NASDAQ report, during this time, incidents of identity theft peak and fraud rates soar 200% over the average rate. 

Whether you are a small business, a large corporation, or an independent professional, when it comes to business documents, you may be dealing with heaps of papers that need filing, storing, and safekeeping. While renting out a public storage facility may be one of the ways to free up valuable real estate, is it really an effective or safe way to store your confidential, sensitive or important business records? 

It is quite natural for many of us to turn a blind eye to the problems that have not impacted us, yet. You may not hesitate to narrate a story about a neighbor, a friend, or a relative who fell prey to a credit card scam, a robbery, a ransomware attack, or a social media account hack. But, how often do you pay heed to the real issues, or think about how you can prevent them from happening to you? As hard hitting as it sounds, you could be the next victim of any of these scams. Identity theft is a real problem, and in 2018, it affected 14.4 million Americans, and most of these incidents resulted from credit card fraud or Social Security Numbers (SSNs) falling in the wrong hands.

For any parent, back-to-school season is always a hectic time. From shopping for new clothes and school supplies, to completing a plethora of enrollment forms and applications, you may be juggling several tasks to get your child and family tuned in to a new school year. However, as parents of school-age children, be aware that this is also that time of year when your child’s identity is at maximum risk of theft. In the frenzy of filling out dozens of forms for sports teams, school programs or extra-curricular activities, you may unwittingly be handing out your little one’s sensitive information to imposters. 

Whether you are a teacher, administrative staff member, student committee member, or a volunteer, if you are closely involved in the field of education, you are aware of the huge amounts of physical and digital data that are processed daily. From personal and financial, to medical and education assessment, every institution collects, creates and stores a host of sensitive information pertaining to their staff, faculty, students and their parents/ guardians. Given the confidential nature of this data, a number of privacy protection measures are already in place for the education industry in the US. 

No matter how large or small your legal practice, your business is privy to an enormous amount of confidential information, including: 

• Personal details, such as bank accounts, mortgage information, medical records, and other Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
• Agreements related to marriage, death, estates and wills.
• Information on business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, patents, trade secrets, undisclosed IPOs or other sensitive business data.