Data breaches and cyberattacks have made protecting sensitive information a priority for most organizations. As a result, many companies will say they have taken all the steps necessary to protect sensitive data against unauthorized access. But how comprehensive is that protection?
Organizations invest heavily in protecting sensitive data within business systems, applications, and file transfer processes. One area often overlooked, however, is print data, which is frequently transferred between systems, processing environments, and offsite production facilities with insufficient security. Print files can contain a wealth of personal and sensitive information such as account numbers, medical treatment descriptions, financial transactions and other sensitive customer information. Lost or intercepted print data is a privacy breach that can be just as serious as the incidents reported on the nightly news.
Print image files are subject to several operations and processes. Common operations include:
As customer communications move through these operational steps, there are multiple opportunities for sensitive information to be exposed, whether through internal workflows, reprints, archiving, or outsourced production processes.
Even after a communication has been processed, the underlying data may still have value to unauthorized individuals. Account information, personal details, and other sensitive content can be exploited for identity theft, phishing attacks, insurance fraud, extortion, and other cybercrime activities.
To reduce the impact of unauthorized access, organizations are increasingly adopting strategies that focus on reducing the value of exposed information. This concept, often referred to as data devaluation, focuses on ensuring sensitive data remains unreadable and unusable to unauthorized users.
For customer communications, that means protecting the print file itself throughout production. By keeping files encrypted and controlling access during processing, organizations can help reduce the value of exposed data while maintaining efficient print and mail operations.
To decrease risk exposure, organizations need data protection that travels with the print files, prohibiting unauthorized access but enabling a smooth and efficient workflow. Organizations need data protection that stays with the print file, protecting sensitive customer information throughout processing, production, reprints, and archive workflows. PRO Lockdown addresses this challenge.
With PRO Lockdown, organizations can support compliance initiatives such as HIPAA and PCI even when sensitive customer information moves beyond their direct control. It addresses security gaps in document production workflows by encrypting files and controlling access so only authorized users and systems can unlock and process sensitive information. It also provides the option to encrypt each page of data individually. Regardless of how an organization splits or selects records from a print file, the encryption remains in place. With this degree of protection, organizations can handle exception processes like reprints without unlocking an entire file to print only the necessary pages. When processing is complete, files remain encrypted even in the document archive.
Customer communications have become too important and too complex to leave unprotected. By keeping sensitive information secure throughout production workflows, organizations can reduce risk, strengthen trust, and move forward with confidence.
Speak to an expert about reducing exposure across your customer communication environment today.
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Crawford Technologies is an award-winning, global provider of software solutions and services that help enterprises optimize and improve the secure and accessible delivery, storage and presentment of their customer communications.
