eBridge Solutions Blog

More than half of businesses DON'T have a formal data retention plan

More than half of businesses do not have a formal data retention plan, creating massive recovery problems due to the over-retention of information, according to a new report by Symantec.

The study, entitled 2010 Information Management Health Check Survey, reveals some shocking figures. Only 46 percent of the 1,680 global businesses asked had a data retention plan in place, meaning that most businesses lack formal procedures for addressing the storage of data and when, if ever, it gets deleted.

87 percent believed such a plan should allow them to delete unnecessary information, but 13 percent would rather not delete anything, even useless material, at all.

The research also found that 75 percent of backups have infinite retention or are on “legal hold”, meaning that they can potentially never be deleted, creating a nightmare situation for those trying to sort through backups to restore a system to a usable state or to regain specific lost information. 

The study found that one in six companies archive information indefinitely. It also found that 25 percent of data that is backed up is not needed and should not be retained, since it hogs space and makes accessing essential information more difficult.

The report discovered that there was widespread improper legal hold practices, with 70 percent of companies performing legal holds using backups, 25 percent preserving an entire backup set for legal holds on files and documents, and 45 percent of backup storage being used for these legal holdings.

If that were not enough, it also found improper backup, recovery and archive practices were rampant. 51 percent prohibit end-user archives, but 65 percent report that end-users archive material anyway when not permitted. 49 percent use backup software for archiving, even when it's not designed for that purpose.

The consequences of these improper practices are manifold, including high storage costs, long backup windows, excessive recovery times, increased litigation risk and inefficient electronic discovery, none of which a business can dismiss lightly.

Reposted from Techeye.net on August 5, 2010

So you bought a document scanner. Now what?

The path toward a paperless office is a noble quest and typically begins with the purchase of a scanner. But, while a scanner will help you eliminate some of the paper in your office, it won't get your documents better organized, more secure or more compliant.

Yes, a scanner can help you convert your old paper files into an electronic format. Then what? What do you name the files? Where do you store them? How do you protect them?

File naming.If you're like most people, you try to name your files to make them easier to find. So, if you are saving a sales contract for Jones Manufacturing, you might name the file JonesManufacturingContract.pdf. or 2010 JonesMfgContract.pdf. That's about two pieces of information - who and what.

With a document management system, not only would you be able to identify the customer name and document type, but you could add the project manager assigned to the client, the date the contract was signed (or is up for renewal) and version number, if any. You can sort by those values as well.

File storage. After you've scanned your paper, you have a few options for digital file storage.

• Hard Drive
• Tape
• CD
• In-House Server
• Cloud-Based Virtual Drive 

While all of these are options, none offer the protection you'll find by scanning and storing your files with an online document management system. Hard drives and servers crash. CDs and tapes can malfunction. Some cloud-based drives are little more than a pretty web site. And, more importantly, you or your IT staff need to spend time each day/week/month/year backing all of the files up. This makes scanning and storing files in your office time-consuming... and a little dangerous.

File compliancy. Depending on the industry you are in, storing your documents unprotected and unencrypted on your hard drive might mean you're not complying with certain regulations. HIPAA, for example, requires that patient information be stored in an encrypted state at rest and during transmission to and from your office. The Red Flags Rule also requires that sensitive information be stored securely in electronic formats to prevent violations. Do your PDFs meet those requirements? Are you sure?

A scanner, like a treadmill, is a great piece of machinery. But, like the treadmill, if you don't have a trainer and a goal, your scanner will probably end up in the corner of the office. But, under a pile of paper instead of a pile of clothes.

How hurricane-proof are your business records?

The Colorado State University forecast team predicts an above-average 2010 hurricane season with 15 named storms to form in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and November 30 -- eight expected to be hurricanes and four developing into major hurricanes. Long-term averages are 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes and 2.3 major hurricanes per year.

With all of this activity on the horizon, have you given much thought to your paper files? If a storm hit, could you recover all of the information contained in your file cabinets? What about your electronic files (e-mails, efaxes and databases) stored on various hard drives throughout your office? HR files? Sales contracts? Corporate tax records? Do you even know what records you could lose?

"Hurricane season can be an uneasy time, especially for businesses operating near the water. But if business owners convert their paper documents into scanned images and store them online, they can relax knowing that when a storm does blow in, their information won't be effected," explained Leslie Haywood, CEO of eBridge Solutions, a Tampa-based document management provider.  "It might be the only thing that allows you to resume normal business operations after a disaster."

In fact, Gartner Research recently released a chilling statistic; two out of five enterprises that experience a disaster go out of business within five years. The absence of adequate disaster-recovery and back-up plans hampers recovery efforts, resulting in a longer time period before day-to-day operations resume.

Now's the time to update your document storage plans so when a hurricane, tornado or other disaster strikes, your information will be protected.  

Step One: Get Rid Of The Paper

One way to protect your information is to go digital with a web-based document management system.  Then, all files will be housed online in a secure environment.  By doing this, even if all your file cabinets are destroyed, you'll still be able to access your valuable information.

Document management involves scanning paper documents, organizing them using index values and then making them available to view across your business. In addition to paper documents, electronic documents and e-mails can also be stored online. A good document management system consolidates of all important documents within an organization regardless of the type of document. This consolidation creates a centralized electronic repository that not only improves operational efficiency, but also makes it possible to create and implement a successful disaster recovery plan.

Once the documents are scanned, the original paperwork can be securely shred. That frees up space in the office and more importantly, puts the documents out of harm's way.

Some business owners are proactive and scan before the first sign of a storm."I feel I'm better prepared for any disaster that might occur, because I can access my files from any online computer allowing me to operate and protect my agency from possible E&O scenarios," explained John Chapetta of Chappetta Insurance in Metairie, Lousiana. Chapetta has been a client of eBridge Solutions' since 2008. Living on the Gulf coast post-Hurricane Katrina gave him plenty of reason to start scanning his documents.

The financial cost of lost business information climbs when important customer records, product information, or business files cannot be found. Re-creating documents is only one aspect of the cost associated with lost information - the loss of proprietary knowledge can be an even greater cost.

Step Two: Back-Up Electronic Documents

Web-based document management systems also take the burden of backing up those electronic documents off the business owner. As files are added to the document management system, they should be backed-up in real time. In addition, some document management companies offer monthly back-up CDs of scanned documents business owners can keep for additional peace of mind.

Wayne Risher of Preddy-Risher in Houston, Texas said, "In case of a hurricane or other disaster - natural or man-made - all of my documents are accessible online at eBridge Solutions or on back-up CDs in my office. Rain. Oil. Thieves. You name it, I'm covered." Risher is another insurance agent who has seen his fair share of inclement weather and the disaster-recovery benefit of document management made his decision to go paperless an easy one.

Step Three: Test Your Back-Up System

If your document management provider gives you back-up CDs, make sure they have all of the information you need on them. Don't wait until there is a disaster to pop them in your computer. Then, make sure you store them off-site. The CDs won't help if they are underwater in your office.

Step Four: Rest Easy

Once you've converted your paper documents and started storing them together online with your electronic documents, you'll be better prepared for a hurricane, flood or fire. Hopefully, you'll never need to refer to your disaster-recovery plan or back-up CDs, but they're there if you need them.

In the event of a disaster, the goal is to be able to quickly establish a temporary office and restore all critical documents. Using a web-based document management system should let you and your employees resume working as quickly as possible.

Document management and transition

Lately, we've been getting a lot of interesting calls at eBridge Solutions from prospective and current clients who are in transition. They may be selling or closing a business. Or, they may be starting a new venture or taking over an existing business or branch office. Either way, document management - especially eBridge's web-based version - is the perfect solution for workers in transition.

Selling/Closing A Business: In most industries there are record-keeping requirements. In a physician's office, for example, patient records should be kept for 10 years after the patient was last seen. But, what happens when a physician wants to sell his (or her) practice and/or retire? If he has file cabinets or off-site storage filled with patient records, are they his responsibility or someone else's?

A provider is bound by applicable federal and state laws and regulations after closure, as well as during its operation. Many state health departments and licensing authorities govern health care facility closures and may outline to whom records should be transferred. In some states, a state archive or health department will store health records from closed facilities. More commonly, state regulations recommend records be transferred to another health care provider.

If the physician selling or closing the practice began digitizing documents and storing them in eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system BEFORE the transition, both parties would be happier. The transfer of data would be as easy as handing over a CD or DVD (or several, depending on how long the practice had been open) to another health care provider or local health department. Or, the physician could simply transfer ownership of his eBridge electronic file cabinet. It would be that easy.

Starting A New Business: If someone is starting a business from scratch, that is the BEST time to get into document management. It's easier to start scanning documents from day one than to go back and handle years worth of files. When new paper comes into the office, scan it and then shred it. You won't even need file cabinets.

Taking Over An Existing Business: If you are taking over a branch or business that has a document management system, I would definitely recommend leaving it in place. Then, once you've learned it, use it on all of the new paperwork coming into your EXISTING business.

In today's economy, transition is inevitable. With a web-based document management system like eBridge Solutions, new and old businesses alike can benefit from powerful online archiving capabilities -- reducing liability along with storage space needs. Try it today at www.eBridgeSolutions.com.

Alleviate Your Fears in Finding Secure Online Document Storage

If you are looking into web-based document management agencies, but are concerned about putting your most important and confidential documents in the cloud, we wanted to remind you of one thing: Our top priority at eBridge Solutions is SECURITY.

It's for this very reason that companies like Allstate Insurance (they approved us in August, 2006) and thousands of other private, public and government businesses and agencies have put their trust in eBridge over the nine years we have been in business.

Throughout those years we have continued to raise our standards in security measurements to meet the tough compliance demands of our clients. eBridge Solutions is certified to be in compliance with such regulations as the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPPA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Federal Information Processing Standardization (FIPS) and the Government Information Security Reform Act (GISRA). 

To ensure your data being transferred via the eBridge cloud is safe, Secure-Socket Layer (SSL) v3(TLS) - the industry standard security protocol for encoding sensitive information - has been implemented by eBridge for mutual authentication, data encryption and data integrity. Your data stored in eBridge is AES-256 Block CBC encrypted, meaning only you and your clients have access to those files (if you give them access). 

Your data is also backed up in real-time in separate data centers in Tampa, FL and Atlanta, GA. Both data centers house redundant web and database servers - fully configured with all software and data - so that in the unlikely event of a failure of any of the data centers, the backup data center will be available. Other security measurements include off-site data backups, access and event monitoring, passwords and physical security that is monitored 24 hours a day.                                 

If that wasn't enough to convince you that your documents are safe with eBridge, contact one of our sales representatives who can elaborate on each security measurement. Visit our web site to register for a free online demo of eBridge Solutions.

Prison for HIPAA Privacy Violator - He Didn't Use eBridge Solutions

HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT - BREAKING NEWS: A former researcher at the UCLA School of Medicine has been sentenced to four months in federal prison for violations of the HIPAA privacy rule. If the UCLA School of Medicine had been using eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system, this could have been prevented. Here's what happened:

Huping Zhou, a cardiothoracic surgeon in China before immigrating to the United States, was employed at UCLA in 2003. On Oct. 23, 2003, he received a notice of intent to dismiss him for performance reasons that did not include illegal access of medical records. That evening, he accessed medical records of his superior and co-workers, and during three other periods during the next four weeks accessed UCLA patient records, many of them involving celebrities, a total of 323 times, according to the FBI office in Los Angeles.

Charges were filed in 2009 and Zhou pleaded guilty in January 2010 to four misdemeanor counts of illegally reading private and confidential medical records. He faced up to four years in prison.

A FBI spokesperson did not have information on why Zhou was able to frequently access medical records after being terminated in 2003 and why charges were not filed until six years later. There is no evidence Zhou improperly used or attempted to sell the information he accessed, according to the FBI.

A UCLA School of Medicine attorney was not immediately available to comment on the lag in discovering the breaches and filing charges. The school released the following statement:

"The UCLA Health System cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney's office in its ongoing investigation of violations of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), including with its prosecution of former UCLA employee, Huping Zhou. Mr. Zhou's employment at UCLA was terminated in November 2003.

"After a subsequent internal investigation revealed that he had inappropriately accessed patient files, UCLA provided the U.S. Attorney's office with all relevant information regarding Mr. Zhou.

"During the past two years the UCLA Health System has put in place a number of safeguards to help ensure patient confidentiality including:

• Expanded the auditing capabilities of our information systems and more than doubled the number of individuals who we proactively audit to ensure their privacy is maintained.
• Evaluated and enhanced our clinical information systems to reduce the risk of information security violations.
• Implemented a mandatory and expanded HIPAA training and certification module required for all physicians, staff and students.

"The UCLA Health System is committed to seeking ways to improve and enhance our policies, procedures and infrastructure to ensure the confidentiality of our patients' medical records."

If UCLA had been using eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system, they could have INSTANTLY deleted Zhou's access to their data. In addition, a routine audit of documents would have shown that he continued to access records AFTER he was let go. While Zhou is the one serving time, rest assured that UCLA Health System will have hefty fines to pay when this is over.

Make sure YOUR company isn't next. Sign up for eBridge's SUPER SECURE document management system today!

-- main article written by Joseph Goedert