The Paradoxical Risk of Paper Records in a Digital Age

Day in and day out, we see everyone from interns to executives suffering the consequences of incautious use of technology - particularly the Internet. The saying goes that the “internet is forever”, meaning any information that gets out or into the wrong hands is perpetually unsafe and at risk of exposure. Whether the private-turned-public is an unfortunate image or post on social media or closely guarded trade secrets.

Given these cautionary tales, any security-cognizant business might think twice before digitizing its particularly important records. A wary executive might be tempted to rely on paper alone for the most sensitive information. After all, an enterprising mercenary hacker or disgruntled employee with thousands of followers and an itchy Twitter finger would be powerless against an analog-only data archive.

Unfortunately, the relative superficial simplicity of a literal lock and key security apparatus for your business is only skin deep.

Aside from vanity and perhaps adhering to legal compliance stipulations, the purpose of putting an idea down on paper is to record and ultimately communicate that idea with others, whether immediately in the form of sharing or eventually in the form of a first prototype.

Have any of your employees lost their car keys? What about a document? Does it matter if someone finds it? A stranger? A competitor? Lost documents can’t be retroactively shredded once they’re out of friendly possession.

What happens if someone makes a copy?

Prior to the era of ubiquitous smartphones with integrated cameras, at least there was a way to track down who might have access to paper information - copier access logs. Those were rendered obsolete with the first ill-posed selfie.

Prioritizing paper records won’t keep your intellectual property and business plans protected.

Thankfully, the dangers of digitizing your records have been so greatly exaggerated as to overshadow the considerable benefit a full service Electronic Content Management provider can provide your business.

In contrast to paper’s occasional lack of paper trail, figuratively speaking, digital recordkeeping allows you to control who, where, and what is accessed. While a crafty competitor or enterprising employee can still take a picture of the screen, they can’t access that data at all without explicitly being granted digital permission, and every instance of access is recorded and searchable by the employer.

ECM providers with prior successful partnerships at the enterprise level and an integrated suite of services ensure your company is both compliant and circumspect in its data security.