How secure is your document workflow?

Are you in the business of creating or distributing personalized communications?

Are worries about data breaches and privacy violations keeping you up at night?

Did you know that the number of data breaches increased by over 30% in 2013, with 43% of those related to highly sensitive healthcare information?

Preventative measures should be increasing to shield document-producing companies from this new level of threat. Unfortunately in a lot of shops, the ability to catch errors before they compromise the privacy of mail recipients is insufficient. Invasive data thieves can cause irreparable harm to organizations entrusted with private information. The fallout from accidental private data exposure can be just as severe.

Circumstances differ of course. Below is a list of negative consequences companies often face following a privacy breach:

Negative Publicity

Major media broadcasts of your privacy problem may be the worst case scenario. But even if the media outlets don’t highlight the incident word will eventually get around to your current and prospective customers.

Re-Work

Mixing pages from multiple accounts or making page composition errors can be devastating. When these happen the jobs usually have to be re-run. The re-work can be more expensive than the original as organizations scramble to acquire additional forms, envelopes, or inserts on short-notice or have to pay for overtime labor.

Corrective Actions

Paying for credit monitoring has become a popular response when personal information is lost, stolen, or mis-directed. You might also be compelled to send apology letters. If financial transactions were involved, the responsible party often pays for items like bounced checks or overdraft charges. Service providers may be asked to reimburse their clients for additional expenses they incurred due to the breach, such as extra customer service hours.

Loss of Business 

Service providers often lose customers after experiencing a data breach. For in-house organizations, a privacy breach that causes pain throughout the organization might be a catalyst for outsourcing print and mail operations.

Fines, Penalties, and Lawsuits

Regulatory bodies may have the power to assess fines, or there could be penalties associated with violating Service Level Agreements. Even if there is no regulatory action, affected individuals may choose to sue. Regardless of the merits of the suit, responding to the complaints consumes time and money.

Simple mistakes in document composition, printing, or inserting have resulted in accidental disclosure of private information. The media is quick to report on such incidents. Loss or theft of computers, disks, or flash drives containing personal information prompt additional news coverage. These incidents are not restricted to large corporations. Small companies are affected as well. Small businesses don’t have the resources to absorb the additional costs, so they can be devastating events.

Accidental errors are easily made. They could happen to anyone. We urge our clients to take an objective look at their workflows, assess their vulnerabilities, and take preventative measures.