How secure is your business?
The security of your office or work premises will always be a worry to you and although you have insurance that will cover many aspects what about theft or misuse of information? When you’re at work you can monitor the activity thats going on in the building however what about your cleaners? Do they come in after normal working hours when nobody else is in the building? Do you use contract cleaners, do you vet the individuals, probably not but you trust them with your intellectual property…is this something you should review? We think so and as a result here are a number of things you should consider:
What access do they have?
Obviously cleaners need to gain access to all areas of the building to ensure they perform their duties effectively. This means they could gain access to sensitive areas or documentation which if passed to a third party could be detrimental to your business.
Do you have a clean desk policy?
Office workers will inevitably leave paper on their desks or files open that they are working with. Are you sure your cleaners are not looking at this information? Are they taking copies away? If you don’t operate a clean desk policy you are opening yourself up to misuse of this information and it should be a policy you deploy within your business with immediate effect.
Do you lock cupboards or drawers?
Filing cabinets, cupboards and drawers are the obvious place to secure sensitive information and files. However it is very common practice to leave these unlocked as your staff will need access during the day. However at night, when your cleaners are performing their duties, are they locked?
Is sensitive commercial information left exposed?
Your account office is a prime place for someone to find out information about your business that is extremely sensitive and s security risk. If you haven’t secured this documentation and have left this out at the end of the day it is a perfect opportunity for a cleaner to read and digest. This information could easily be passed and expose your business to a huge commercial risk.
How safe is your intellectual property?
Pitching for tenders, your business and financial plans are all part of your intellectual property. In addition your business operations make you a unique enterprise and this in itself is your intellectual property and should be kept under lock and key and away from prying eyes.
How easily could they plant a listening device?
Your competitors would love to gain access to your business information and it is becoming more common for commercial fraud to take place with the use of listening devices. These are becoming smaller by the year and can be easily concealed in locations you may have thought were a security risk – this even be in the work kitchen where idle chit chat about work could be discussed and recorded. Routine bug sweeps ensure that this risk can be mitigated as much as possible.
Could they access your computers and phones?
Passwords have always been a security risk. With I.T. Departments correctly enforcing a change of password on a regular basis doesn’t stop people from writing these down in the front of diaries or other locations close to where they are needed. A cleaner has the time and opportunity to scan and look for passwords for both computers and phones in order to gain access to voicemail boxes where we are aware security risks can easily be exploited. Routine security scans by trained professionals ensures that these risks are kept to a minimum and using services such as our organisation will highlight security risks through our regular and detailed audits.
At Covert we have entered buildings on numerous occasions and not be challenged when doing Security Penetration reviews for clients. If we can get in, so can your competitors!
Let Covert Investigations help your business become more secure
Why not speak to Covert Investigations and Surveillance Ltd for advice on security, TSCM Bug Sweeps, employee screening, private investigations and many more preventive measures or even a Site Security Assessment to protect your assets. If you would like to see how much a private investigation costs click here.
If you would like to find out more and to arrange a meeting to discuss your case requirements please Contact Us or call 029 2091 3294.
