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Why Medical Records Are Important To Data Thieves

These days, anyone can sell just about anything on the internet. The deep web, the dark web, the black market; whatever name you’ve heard for it, in the recesses of the internet, it exists. It’s not a safe place to be, what with the lurking hackers and strange mystery items being sold and shipped across the world, but it plays a huge part in the market for medical records.

Healthcare facilities are often targeted because of the sheer number of patient files that can be harvested from their servers. Each patient has a paper file, of course, but in this digital age, many facilities are choosing to keep data on their computers for ease of access. This is where the issue lies. Healthcare facilities are chosen as targets for hackers so that this data can be collected and sold.

There are many reasons that someone would buy medical data. Hackers can sell several files for a lot of profit because they contain so much personal data. Think about it. Your medical file would have your name, date of birth, your address, and even a list of your medical conditions. If you’re on a repeat prescription, a hacker could easily find out what GP you’re with, which pharmacy you use, and collect your prescription while acting as you. Remember the last time you collected a pre-ordered prescription? They probably asked you to confirm your name and address. Data that your medical file would list.

As well as drug and substance abuse issues, the hacker would have also listed your address and all of your other personal details. Individuals who don’t visit their GP very often won’t realise that their data has been misused or stolen. There have been cases where healthcare users discover that their file has been stolen a long time after it happens. Unlike things like debit or credit card theft, there is no sure-fire way to report theft of medical data.

It’s not thought to be a common occurrence, and many don’t realise it happens until it’s too late. Ransomware is one major way that these hackers gain access to healthcare data. In the two years between 2014 and 2016, almost half of the data breaches in the UK were aimed at healthcare organisations.

What this means is that the healthcare industry was targeted more than any other industry. Medical records provide data thieves with more data to sell off to the highest bidder, and it’s safer to sell off too; because the likelihood of it being reported is much lower than financial data theft.

Medical records, depending on the information available, can be sold for anywhere between £15 and £1500 each. Just from the consequences alone, you can see exactly why this type of information needs to be protected better than it currently is. There are many methods that can be used to prevent the theft of medical information, and it starts by ensuring that the industry is aware of the problem.

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5 Ways To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is never a nice thing to think about. Someone creating counterfeit documents about you, or misusing genuine identification and financial assets, like bank cards. Once someone has enough information about you to steal your identity, they can do all sorts of nefarious things with it, including commit financial fraud, travel undetected, fraudulently claim on insurance or benefits, and commit many more criminal activities in your name. Unfortunately, identity theft is becoming more and more common, with an average of 174,523 cases a year reported in the UK alone.

So, what can you do to protect yourself against identity theft?

Secure Your Important Documents

One of the best things you can do to protect your identity is to protect your personal documents. Keep identifying and sensitive documents like your passport, birth certificate and insurance information in a lockable unit, filing cabinet or container. Store the container away from windows and doors, and out of sight completely where you can. This applies to both businesses and individuals – locking away secure data is the best way to protect yourself.

Shred All Identifying Documents

There will also be plenty of times when you have identifying documents you no longer need to keep. When this happens, the best thing you can do is destroy them – securely. That means feeding them through a shredder! There are many documents that could put you at risk if they are not destroyed properly – from bank statements and old credit cards to expired photo IDs and even spam mail with your address on it. Destroying this data is the only way you can 100% guarantee the information is completely safe and cannot be stolen or misused. Even items including small bits of information like your date of birth need to be destroyed – as these can contribute to the wider puzzle about you that a criminal is trying to put together.

Only Shop On Secure Websites

When you shop online for yourself or on behalf of a company, try to make sure you are being smart about the data you give away and where you enter it. Only shop online on websites you know to be authentic and secure – look for the padlock icon in the search bar for confirmation on a site’s security, and if Google tells you a site isn’t safe – don’t use it! Alongside this, you should also make sure your antivirus software is up to date, and never shop online using a public WiFi connection, as these can be exploited to steal your data as it moves through the network.

Before Of Phishing Scams

Make sure you stay aware of what information you give away, especially if it’s to someone you don’t know. Phishing scams and telephone scams are on the rise, and scammers are getting much more sophisticated in their approach. Email phishing scams are a very traditional way of gathering your data, so make sure you are cautious with what information you give away and what emails you open. Similarly, be careful with what information you divulge on the phone. Never give out information to a provider who has called you – always ask to call them back on their official number so that you know the call is genuine. Many fraudsters will pose as an employee of a well-known business, and will try to keep you on the line instead of calling the genuine organisation back.

Destroy Unused Data Storage And Electronics

As technology progresses, a lot of our personal information is now stored on devices – computers, phones, hard drives and so on. This includes sensitive documents, passwords and delicate information that could be a goldmine for fraudsters and identity thieves. Once you are finished with a device, don’t be tempted to sell it on. Even once a device is wiped, the information can still be recovered using the right software and know-how. So, the best way to minimise the risk of this is to destroy the device.

At Hungry Shredder we specialise in helping individuals and business owners protect themselves against identity theft. We provide specialised on-site and remote shredding services, so you can be sure your data will never fall into the wrong hands. That includes things like hard drives and computers – which our machines can handle without a problem. If you would like to find out more, just get in touch with us today.

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1 Year On – A GDPR Review

Back on the 25th May, the European Union saw the first year of it’s General Data Protection Regulation come and go. This regulation has been one of the most vital changes in data privacy in the last ten years; changing the way that every single business handles personal data, among other things.

With the introduction of GDPR, many were confused. The regulation seemed difficult for many to fully understand, especially those who were not well-versed with personal data or the kinds of records that companies were legally able to keep. GDPR enabled the everyday member of the public to have a say in their personal data and refuse to give permission for any company to hold their details.

Understanding What GDPR Is

This subject has been covered time and time again, but for any that are still uncertain, we’d like to take some time to summarise what GDPR is. The regulation is complicated, that’s for sure, but it’s not impossible to understand. GDPR isn’t a complicated IT problem, and for individuals who have regained control of their data, it is the best thing to happen in a long time.

GDPR, or “General Data Protection Regulation”, is a regulation that purely protects and empowers EU citizens and their private data. Any EU citizen has the right to ask a company to delete their private and personal data, and they are legally required to do so.

The goal of GDPR is to ensure that any personal data is not misused – such as for things like cold calling. The regulation protects all EU citizens, even if the company is outside of the EU but holding the data of an EU person.

Businesses Have Struggled To Implement GDPR

Many organisations were not prepared for the new regulation to be put in place and were delayed in putting together the proper procedures to be compliant. There were a number of compliance issues in the early days of GDPR, and even now, not all businesses are fully compliant. A large amount of the organisations that are not compliant are in that state because they believe that the regulation does not apply to them. But it applies to everyone.

Lack Of Compliance Has Not Led To Overpowering Fines

One of the major worries of businesses around the world was that if they were found to not be compliant, they would be hit with a fine so large that they would go under. Small to medium businesses, in particular, seemed concerned. But most investigations have resulted in no such fine, rather, a chance to change.

The People Know Their Rights

GDPR has led to a plethora of people coming to fully understand their privacy and data rights. When you consider that the regulation was put in place to aid the people in their desire for more privacy, GDPR has more than done its job. The individuals of today know more than ever about their data and how that personal data is processed in the business world.

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Hungry Shredder raises over £700 for Walton Juniors FC

Fundraisers come in many forms, and last Saturday Walton Juniors FC provided the local community with a shredding service in return for donations.

Thanks to the Molesey based firm Hungry Shredder, over £700 was donated by local people and companies who visited the Xcel Sports Hub to have their documents shredded.

Walton Juniors Club Secretary Jo Scandella added, “We are very grateful for the support given by Hungry Shredder, who are helping the community through an innovative fundraiser. If you have any shredding requirement’s then please support this local firm”.

 

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Are You Taking An Unnecessary Risk With Your Documents?

It can be so easy to make a mistake with your documents and their safety. Documents often contain sensitive information that needs to be kept in a secure location, but most office workers forget this fact when they’re working with said documents. You could enter any local office and you’ll be able to spot a few issues straight away.

What Is A Sensitive Document?

A sensitive document can outline any document that contains information about you, your company or another business that your company is communicating with. This includes business partners and your own clientele.

Every office will have these types of documents. They’re an essential part of running a business, but paper copies can become a hassle if they aren’t properly managed. Minimising the risk that comes with keeping visible documents should be a primary concern.

How Your Documents Are At Risk

We don’t think about it while we’re working, but the documents that we use for our company on a day-to-day basis are crucial to our company’s success. They may list anything from personal information of a client to financial details, or even just have your own email and phone number on there (even just your work ones). No matter what information is displayed, we can guarantee that it’s sensitive in some way.

If you have documents lying on worktops or shoved into unlocked desk drawers, then you already have a document security issue. The matter of the fact is, when an employee is done for the night, the last thing they will think about is putting away a file they will need again the next day. Because of this action, which most of your employees will do, sensitive documents are left out for prying eyes to see.

There are, however, many simple and easy ways to keep your documents and your information safe without taking extreme measures. As always, there will be different solutions for different problems, but there is a solution; and that’s what’s important.

Set Up A Storage Policy

If you do decide to stick to the old ways of paper documents, then your company could greatly benefit from having a document management and storage policy. Any documents that are stored on-site should be stored in a secure location in the office, itself. This storage location should be complete with lockable file cabinets or a lockable cupboard. No one person – apart from trusted managers and supervisors – should have the keys for these areas.

That might seem like a lot of work, but surely having an employee spend a couple of moments asking for a key is better than having documents left out on a table for the world to peek at? If not a key, then a coded door would work, as well. It’s much harder to lose a code, and it can be easily changed if you think there’s an issue.

Of course, your other solution is just to go entirely paperless. This will take time, but just think about all of the space you’d free up around the office – and how much more accessible documents would be.

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Creating A Secure Work From Home Policy

Working remotely is one of the best things about being in a job where you can work from home on days where you’re not needed in the office. Of course, for the business that is enabling the “work from home” method into their practices, things aren’t quite as easy as they seem. A secure remote working policy is needed to ensure that your employees are as safe working at home as they are in the office.

Today’s technology is fantastic, and working from home is extremely popular with employees who spend long hours typing away in their offices. More modern employers are open to reaping the benefits of flexible working patterns and contracts, and are often more than happy to allow their employees a few days a home, as long as they get their duties completed just as well as they usually would.

A strong and secure work from home policy will minimise any risks that could come from having an employee work from home. These risks are quite specific to your own company, so the policy that works for one company may not work for yours. A bit of trial and error is usually needed for any policy, though, so it’s really nothing to worry about.

Risks depend on the data and information that your employee is working with. There are sometimes certain levels of access required to use particular areas of your company system, and it’s really up to you to decide whether or not you are happy to have these areas accessed outside of your company’s office setting. That’s not saying that your employees can’t work from home at all, just that you will need to decide what they can or can’t access remotely.

Many employers choose to give their employees company laptops to use when they’re working from home. These have better protection, more suited to business needs, and can keep your employee safe online while they’re working through the day for you.

You should clearly outline what your employee’s duties are if you’re allowing them to work from home. Working from home doesn’t need to be a huge deal, but there should be a certain amount of work you expect them to complete if they’re going to be away from the office for that day (or for a number of days). It’s unlikely that an employee is going to conduct themselves in the exact same manner at home as they would while in the office, but there’s a certain level of responsibility that still needs to be taken into account.

Furthermore, your employees should be clear on any expectations you have for them during their time at home. This includes how many hours you expect them to work – or, alternatively, a set amount of work they need to complete. Usually, this helps both you and your employee find a balance between working at home and how much they should be paid for that day, as well as what you expect from them.

At Hungry Shredder, we think working form home can be an amazing thing. For many people, working from home means they get more done, are happier within themselves, and perform better at daily tasks. But to do that, businesses need to make sure they are treating confidential data with care, and have policies in place to protect it. If you would like to find out more, then please get in touch with one of our team today, and we’ll be happy to share some advice.

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A Guide To Preventing Fraud In Your Business

Around one in four small businesses are affected by some kind of fraud every year. It’s a very serious problem that causes billions of pounds in losses, and most businesses have come into contact with a form of fraud, even if the situation didn’t happen to them. While many businesses are becoming more savvy, some don’t believe that they will fall victim to any type of fraudulent interactions.

 

To prevent fraud in your business, you must first identify where you might be at risk. Risks can come from customers, employees, suppliers, and even your business assets. It’s not just up to your office to be good at identifying risks – everyone involved in your business should be able to at least attempt identifying any fraud risks.

 

Customers and fraud

For businesses that deal with customers in-person, there is the issue of counterfeit money being used in transactions. Even if your business only accepts card payments online, fake credit or debit cards can be used, or even stolen cards that don’t belong to the person making the purchase.

Identity theft is a huge issue in the world, so even training your staff members in a few basic ways to spot a bad payment or counterfeit money will help keep your business running. Customers can, in this situation, refer to any person who does not directly work for your company, but still has financial dealings with you.

 

Employees and fraud

When we mention employees and fraud, we definitely aren’t implying that any employees in a business would try to be fraudulent. However, employees are often the target of scams and fraud, because many employees are often the first line of contact in a company and trained to deal with their own situations. Fraud is becoming more sophisticated, and employees are vulnerable to false payments, embezzlement, information theft, and many other issues.

Employees can leave their company susceptible to fraud if they do not have the tools to battle fraud attempts. Always train your employees in the newest fraud techniques, and how to identify fraudulent emails and phone calls.

 

Training to prevent fraud

Most fraudulent activity can be spotted by putting a few effective processes in place to help minimise or catch illegal behaviour. First, employees must know what to look for, then, they need to know what to do next.

The most common types of fraud in business are those that involve finances – such as accounts payable and accounting issues. To commit fraud, a person must have access to money and accounts in order to make their false payment, steal someone’s identity, or do something similar. Train your employees to ensure they understand your company’s procedures, especially in regard to any payments that need to be made to or from the company. Every employee should follow your company guidelines to the letter and should be able to easily detect spam emails and fake accounts being used for purchases.

 

Remember: If something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.

 

Of course, keeping a firm handle on your paperwork can go a long way to preventing fraud in and outside your business. Paperwork theft is still one of the biggest causes of identity theft and fraud in this country, particularly from business owners who throw paperwork with sensitive data on it straight into the recycling bin. If you’d like to know more about how you can protect your business from fraud and still get your recycling fix, just get in touch with us today.

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8 Tips For A Greener Office

Recent news of the impact we have on the planet has made most of us sit up and take notice of our own recycling habits. While it’s easy to see the ways in which we can make a difference at home, it’s often a different story in the workplace.

 

There are many benefits to going green in the office, including reduced costs and enhanced productivity. It can also improve the way customers and clients view your company, and who wouldn’t want that?

 

If this sounds appealing to you read on for our 8 top tips to help you go greener in the office.

 

  • Cutting down on the number of printed documents is an easy way to begin your journey to a greener office. Take a moment before printing to consider if you need a paper copy of this document. If the answer is no, easy, don’t print. If you’re not sure, try not printing and see if you come back to do it later. You can also make the documents you do need to print greener by printing double-sided or using the eco-mode on your printer.

 

 

  • Save energy by turning off all non-essential appliances before leaving the office. If you usually hit standby make sure you are fully shutting down instead. This doesn’t only apply for home time, but should also be best practice for when you’re leaving for a long meeting or lunch too.

 

 

  • Make recycling easy by creating a station with clear information. If you provide staff with a simple way to sort their rubbish they will be more inclined to do so on a regular basis. Think about designating sections for documents that need to be shredded, ink cartridges and even WEEE electrical waste.

 

 

  • Switch to recycled products wherever possible. This could be printer paper, stationery, paper towels or refillable ink cartridges. Speak to your suppliers about the most eco-friendly and cost-effective options and start switching.

 

 

  • Literally turn your office green by filling it with plants. Plants have been proven to reduce stress, increase productivity and even lower sickness rates. It’s also nice to walk into a bright and green office every morning, putting you in a good mood to start the day.

 

 

  • Remove disposable options from the office if there are any, instead ask staff to use mugs and glasses over throwaway cups. Branded or personalised mugs are a great way to encourage everyone to get on board with this idea.

 

 

  • If you’re prone to popping out and buying lunch each day, try switching to homemade lunches. You’ll cut down on packaging with reusable storage and save yourself quite a bit of money. Did you know the average lunch spend of around £5 per day equates to well over £1000 a year? Take it one step further and make the food you eat greener by cutting down on meat and using in-season & local produce.

 

 

  • Use environmentally friendly products to clean your office. There are so many brands offering animal and planet friendly products now that you are spoilt for choice. If you use a cleaning service, discuss with them what options they can offer you.

 

 

 

Now we’ve given you the tools you need to get started we hope you will give green a go. Don’t forget that we can help you dispose of unwanted documents in a safe and secure way. Once your documents are shredded they are recycled and returned as low-grade paper – another great way to keep up the green ethos. Sign up for one of our paper shredding services online today or get in touch to discuss your requirements.

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Keeping Your Business Data Safe This Christmas

It may not seem like something that you should be thinking about during the festive season, but if you get a bit of downtime in your business over Christmas, then it might be the perfect opportunity to consider how you can best approach data security. We know it can be hard to consider the best way to make sure that your business data is safe, so as a Christmas gift to you, we’ve put together some of the best approaches to take and things to think about this year.

 

Take A Look At Your Passwords

Remembering all of your different passwords might be difficult, but remember they are there for a reason. Mainly, They’re there to make sure that your computer-based data is kept safe and secure. Passwords are unique to the user and therefore it should be something that is memorable. That said, it should never be something that could be easy to guess, like your birthday, your pets name or your anniversary. It’s a good idea to not only look at your own passwords, but also to ensure that your staff do too on a regular basis. Changing passwords and ensuring that they are as secure as possible is a good task to set for Christmas time, as it will be easy to remember when you need to revisit them.

 

Keep Physical Data Safe With Shredding

Whilst we are all moving towards a relatively paperless world, chances are that there is still likely to be some physical data and paperwork that we hold as businesses. It is important that this physical data never gets into the wrong hands, which means that you need to do your best to keep it safe. Shredding is hands down the best option for this. Not only does it destroy the data, but it also disposes of it in a fashion that ensures that it could never be put back together. And it’s a perfect festive task – just whack on some Christmas music and sing along!

 

Educate Yourself On Data

Knowledge is power, and this is definitely true when it comes to data for your business. Take the time to understand not only the data that you need to keep secure for your business – but why it’s important that this data is kept secure too. Not only this, but if you employ staff in your business, then perhaps you should encourage them to learn more about data too. After all, the biggest security weakness in any business is it’s people, and educating your team about data security will help them be on board with any new rules or policies that you are planning on putting in place.

 

Consider the Cloud

In this modern world, the way that we store things is really starting to change. The cloud is just one example of this. Storage for data has become remote, and with this there is the added safety and security that can come with cloud-based storage. Of course, there are some concerns when it comes to how things are stored on the Cloud, and many business owners are still concerned about sending their data somewhere off-site (even though for disaster recovery purposes this is a good thing). But if you choose a reputable storage provider, then everything should be fine, and all your questions will be answered.

 

At Hungry Shredder, we spend most of our time shredding sensitive documentation for businesses who don’t have the time or resource to do it in-house, but know it is an important part of their data security plans. Out outsourced document shredding service is the perfect way to ensure you keep your business data safe, without having to lose too much of your valuable time on it. If you would like to know more about our festive shredding offers, just get in touch with us today.

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What Christmas Packaging Is Recyclable

The holiday season is upon us once again, and that can mean only one thing: mountains of presents wrapped in a variety of packaging. Family households are known for shoving all of this into a black bag or into the recycling bin and hoping for the best, but with everything from cardboard to dyed wrapping paper helping us hide our special gifts, there are a few things that you should know.

 

Wrapping Paper

Some local authorities will accept wrapping paper in home recycling collections, but not all. This is because some recycled paper mills do not take wrapping paper. The materials that go into making some kinds of wrapping paper result in a paper that can’t be recycled. This is because this wrapping paper contains non-paper additives such as glitter, which can’t be recycled with the paper.

 

Before you try and recycle wrapping paper that can definitely be recycled (wrapping paper that is plain and/or non-laminated, if it’s coloured) ensure that you remove any sticky tape, ribbons, and bows. These store-bought decorations often cannot be recycled. A good way to know whether or not you can recycle your wrapping paper is this: if you can scrunch it up, it can be recycled.

 

Christmas Decorations

Tinsel, and glass or plastic baubles should be carefully disposed of in your general waste, but lights and wreaths can be recycled. If your wreath is made of natural materials, it can be recycled as green or garden waste once the glitter, ribbons, and bows have been removed from it.

 

Fairy lights are becoming increasingly popular at Christmas time and are even used to light up and showcase some gifts. These can be recycled at household waste recycling centres, though some local authorities may be happy to collect small electricals as a part of their recycling collections – you could also check the large recycling bins at supermarkets to see if they can be put there. However, any item that is classed as a piece of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment should be disposed of at a designated area, typically a household waste recycling centre, rather than put into general waste. Any item that has a plug or uses batteries (such as the LED lights that are used to decorate gift boxes etc.) is classed as electrical waste.

 

Labels and Envelopes

Labels and envelopes are everywhere during Christmas time. You may not think about it, but some of these contain sensitive personal information and you should endeavour to keep them in your pile of “things that need to be shredded”.

 

If a label or envelope has your name and address on it, it could be classed as a sensitive document, because it reveals your personal information. Try to keep these paper items away from the rest of your recyclables until you have found the time to shred them.

 

Afterwards, put all of your shredded paper into your paper and cardboard recycling box. Remember, if you get a gift in the mail, pull off its name and address label to be shredded. If you have a full bin already (and at Christmas that wouldn’t surprise us!) then you might want to hire in a shredding company to help. At Hungry Shredder, we run an on and off-site shredding service guaranteed to help you through the festive season, and increase your recycling too! For more information, get in touch with us today.