Shred-it Urges Businesses to be "Increasingly Vigilant" as International Fraud Awareness Week Approaches

TORONTO, CANADA, November 06, 2010 (Press-News.org) As International Fraud Awareness Week approaches (November 7 -13), experts at Shred-it, the information destruction organization are warning businesses of the need to protect themselves from the growing threat of employee fraud.

Approximately 36 per cent of security breaches reported originated within companies, according to a 2009 TELUS and Rotman study. The same study shows that unauthorized access to information by employees was up by an alarming 112 per cent and was the fastest-growing breach category. Yet despite these statistics, Shred-it's own research shows that just 1% of Canadian business operators rate employee fraud as their top security concern.

"It's clear from our research that there is a disconnect between the perceived risk of employee fraud and the reality," says Michael Collins Vice President Sales, Shred-it Canada. "While the mechanics of identity theft and fraud are often associated with external sources, insider access to sensitive data, including employee records, is a key organizational security concern, potentially leading to identity theft and fraud. International Fraud Awareness Week is an ideal time to highlight these risks to organizations and encourage businesses to be increasingly vigilant when it comes to securing loopholes in organizational security strategies."

In support of the weeklong international campaign and based on its 20-plus years of industry experience providing information security solutions to business, government and non-profit clients around the world, Shred-it has the following quick tips for organizations wanting to protect the security of employee information and eliminate the potential for identify theft and fraud:

1. Make sure you have formal information security policies in place; train your employees to know the policies well and follow them rigorously.

2. Limit the number of people who handle confidential documents. Be careful when hiring new employees. Perform full reference checks and, where warranted, ask your new hires to sign confidentiality agreements.

3. Demonstrate a top-management commitment to the total security of your business and customer information.

4. Conduct a security audit of your organization. Shred-it offers free security assessments...

5. Adopt a Shred-all policy making sure all paper documents are securely destroyed on a regular basis

6. Outsource document destruction to reliable vendors, whose methodology ensures total security of the document disposal process

For more information on International Fraud Awareness Week from Shred-it, please visit http://www.shredit.com/international-fraud-awareness-week.asp

About Shred-it
Shred-it is a world-leading information security company providing document destruction services that ensure the security and integrity of clients' private information. The company operates 140 service locations in 16 countries worldwide, servicing more than 150,000 global, national and local businesses, including the world's top intelligence and security agencies, more than 500 police forces, 1,500 hospitals, 8,500 bank branches and 1,200 universities and colleges. For more information, please visit http://www.shredit.com.

Media contacts
Katarina Kristanic
Strategic Communications Specialist
Shred-it
905.491.2250
katarina.kristanic@shredit.com

Katie Rogers
On behalf of Shred-it
416.642.7893
krogers@golinharris.com