Two-thirds of remote workers are at risk of violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by printing work from home, according to a new study by Go Shred. Specifically, the company found that 66% of remote workers have printed work documentssince starting to work from home, averaging five documents per week. Among the documents remote workers print are meeting notes/agendas (42%), internal documents including procedure manuals (32%), contracts, marketing documents (30%), and income/expense forms (27%).
Additionally, 20% of remote workers admitted to printing confidential employee information, such as payroll, addresses, and medical data, while 13% have printed resumes or applications.
As Infosecurity Magazine reports, the issue here is that, to comply with the GDPR, all companies that store or process personal information about EU within its member states must have an effective, documented, controlled process for collecting, storing, and destroying personal information.
However, when asked if they have thrown away any paper documents since they started working from home, 24% of respondents said they have not yet thrown them away as they plan to return them to the office. In contrast, another 24% said they have thrown away company documents. This is clearly not recommended, as both employees themselves and their companies are at risk of a breach , as well as potential fines.
Mike Cluskey, CEO of Go Shred, said: “Printing any document that contains personal information about employees or potential employees is a very risky activity, as this information could end up in the wrong hands and be used to impersonate someone . It’s shocking to see so many remote workers printing documents that contain payroll, addresses and other personal information about company members. Even internal documents like meeting notes and agendas can be ‘dangerous’, so extra precautions should be taken.”
Thus, Cluskey stressed that it is vital for business to review their current processes and educate their staff on existing threats, as remote work requires a different security than working in the office, especially when it comes to data security and the disposal of confidential information.
