With the current state of technology, you can easily send documents, request documents, keep them online for reviews or even sign a contract electronically from your phone, computer, or mouse.

Though this is very helpful as it has saved people from stress, it has also created several risks, such as unintentional data leaks and hacking. This doesn’t mean that using filing cabinets is better. People need to take precautions when dealing with their online documents.

So, read on to find out how to keep your documents or records safe from hackers.

1.   Digitizing documents

Paper documents hold more risk than digital documents for every organization or individual. People can lose the hard copy of their documents, or someone can even take them out of an office without any person knowing that it has been removed.

This is why organizations need to take steps to secure their digital document copy. One such way is to create a digital scan of a paper document in PDF form.

You can add a security measure when a paper document is turned into a PDF format. One such method is to make the PDF non-editable. Websites like https://setapp.com/how-to/make-pdf-non-editable can ensure that such online documents are protected since it makes them uneditable.

2.   Create passwords

Password protection is a significant way to protect any vital file. When people in a company use their smartphones or laptops to work on official documents, their devices can be taken or stolen.

If there is no password protection on the device, the person can freely access any delicate or essential documents. Even when you work with common software for creating documents, you should add password protection since it adds an extra layer of security.

3.   Create Two-Factor Authentication

If you use cloud storage or document software to create a two-factor authentication (2FA) for guarding an account, then you should use it. Enabling a two-factor authentication means the user must input a username and a password any time he intends to log in.

The software creates a code that would be sent to your computer, phone device, or tablet through an email or text message to complete the login. Correctly entering the two-factor authentication would give the user access to his account.

When a hacker gets access to a user’s username and password, the hacker would require the user’s smartphone and email account to log in and steal any information from the user’s account. Two-factor authentication is not a one-stop solution for preventing hacking, but it can give you a powerful means of protecting your documents.

Conclusion

Hackers find and steal sensitive data from businesses across different sizes (small to large companies.) This is why it is becoming essential that firms and people learn to keep their digital documents safe.

Protecting your documents, records, or business files is beyond ensuring that hackers don’t get to steal them. It also involves keeping your documents safe in case of damage or loss. The above tips should help you protect your documents.