CEOs and managers are asking their workers to help security by following protocols.
During International Fraud Awareness Week, Shred-it, the UKs data destruction company, is asking employees to be more responsible in helping prevent fraud which “costs businesses £193 million (€219/$239 million) a year, according to a press release.
Security training is lacking in 34 percent of small businesses, and 58 percent of managers only train staff once a year, according to Shred-it’s 2016 Security Tracker Survey.
Robert Guice, Senior Vice President for the EMEA at Shred-it, said: “Information security training still sits low on the list of business priorities for most companies and business leaders. However, it can make the difference between a protected workplace and one recovering from the damage of fraud caused by data breach. Employees have a vital role to play when it comes to the preventing fraud in the workplace. The right training can help workers fully understand their responsibilities and take meaningful actions towards preventing a data breach.
“During International Fraud Awareness Week, we urge all employees to take the initiative and call on their business leaders and colleagues to address any existing information security gaps and to commit to regular training.”
Shred-it have released a Fraud Awareness Quiz for International Fraud Awareness Week, in which employees can test themselves and become more aware of breaches of security. The company also has some advice for workers: adopt a clean desk policy by locking away all information when leaving the desk unattended, and educate each other on the most “vulnerable areas” in the office, for instance, the printer area, collect printing immediately.
The workplace should have a “locked secure bin for all unwanted […] documents”, and mobile workers were reminded that all their information at home needed to be treated with the same security in mind. Shred-it also said that one person should be responsible for the office shredder and shredding, and that shredding is not always secure as some pages can be reconstructed, and that a cross shredding service might be more secure.
International Fraud Awareness Week takes place from 13 to 19 November, and is organised by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (AFCE) which stands up against fraud and promotes anti-fraud awareness around the world.