5 Tips for securing personal information at work

There is always a worry in the work setting that personal information is not secure.Personal information includes any information that expresses facts or judgments about individuals.This information can include names, birthdays, occupation, title, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and other information that is individually assigned.If you worry about securing personal information at work, look at these 5 tips to help you make sure personal information is secure:

1. User ID and Password - All employees should have their own User ID and password for computer networks.They should not share this information with anyone.If they do, they run the risk of someone else getting access to their personal information.Passwords should be changed regularly.Passwords should consist of numbers, letters, and symbols and should be impossible for someone to guess.Employers should have access to employees' user ID's, but not passwords.Passwords should be chosen by employees.Employers should have an alternate way of accessing employee's information on the network (within the limits of the law).

2. Email - Encourage employees to be careful when they check their personal email at work.If their friend sends them a confidential attachment and they download it to view it, it might be saved somewhere on their computer.It is a good idea to encourage employees to use their personal email at work as little as possible.All emailing should be done through work email.Personal emails should not be sent using work email addresses.All emails sent from work should be work related.You might have a work email that is easy for employers to access the contents of it and find out what you are sending and who you are sending it to.
3. Firewalls - All of the computers should have personal Internet firewalls installed.Firewalls will help keep personal information (such as credit cards, birthdays, telephone numbers, and emails) confidential.Firewalls help keep computers that are connected to the Internet secure.Firewalls help to control what information comes in and what information goes out of the computer.Each computer should have hardware and software firewalls.Make sure firewalls are updated, because technology is always changing.There are other types of software out there that will help secure personal information, such as anti-spyware.Spyware watches the websites you go to and sends lists back to a central data point.It is easy to leak personal information if you don't have anti-spyware on your computer.It is a good idea to also install anti-spyware while you're installing firewalls on each computer.
4. Locks - It is a good idea to keep all the personal information of employees locked up in files somewhere.These can be electronic or in hard copy form.If they are electronic, make sure they are not easily accessible.Passwords should be required to access personal information of employees.Also if they are electronic, make sure you have back-up copies.It is also a good idea to have a lock on each door.Each employee should have their own key to their office.If there is a master key that opens all doors, only a select few should be allowed to have that key.
5. Rules and Regulations - Companies should have a "Personal Information Protection Policy" in place.There are state laws about the privacy of personal information at work.Find out what the rules are for your state and make sure you are following them.It is a good idea to put someone in charge of finding out what the rules and regulations are and making sure personal information is secure.Employers can get into a lot of trouble if their employees personal information is not secure.