Not all documents need protecting. Some documents need to be seen by the world. For example, you might want to share the essay your son wrote that you are both so proud of on all your social media accounts for all to see and appreciate your son’s prowess. But other documents do require discretion in terms of their use for several reasons. Below are some of those reasons.
1. Piracy is a Real Problem with Digital Content:
You probably thought that piracy only applies to music and movies as there are regular posts about this issue on various news sites. It might be true that the bulk of piracy concerns video and audio media, but literature theft is not far behind. It just does not get as much attention.
Also, the revenue losses from piracy amount to millions of dollars every year and no one feels the impact more than the creators of the content. After all, they did not write novels or create online classes simply to give them away for free. Instead, they created them so they could earn revenue and piracy disrupts their ability to do that.
Luckily, protecting your documents better, for example with document security or DRM system, has a direct correlation with increased income from your content. That also means more motivation to keep providing quality work from which the world may benefit a great deal.
2. Laws and Compliance:
The law is there to guide people on harmonious living and protect them from harm. So, there are also a few laws governing the use of documents, especially those containing information about individual members of the public. Failure to comply with these laws by individuals or organizations could lead to consequences, including sanctions, fines, and litigation. It could even mean the closure of a firm.
In the spirit of self-preservation, it is only right that you protect sensitive and confidential documents from getting out into the world.
3. Trade Secrets:
Trade secrets are not to be shared lightly, especially since they can bring about the collapse of entire organizations or give the competition an edge. In fact, there are several examples of how trade secrets have helped organizations maintain their market leadership.
Coca-Cola is one such case. Their beverages are preferred all over the world to those of their competitors as the formula they use to create the taste of the drink is unique. If another beverage maker came into possession of this secret, they could, in turn, make their beverages taste more like Coca-Cola’s and sell them for less. Customers would then no longer pick Coca-Cola as their primary beverage provider, meaning that the organization would lose its market leader position and a lot of revenue. The same is true for other market leaders, such as KFC’s chicken recipe.
So, if you have trade secrets that could be used against you, you must protect them under lock and key. In this way, only those who you trust with the information will get to see the documents.
4. Some Documents May Hurt You or Your Organization Just by Being Leaked to the Public:
If documents about your customers were to get out, the same clients who trusted you with the security of their information will begin to distrust you. This may result in some pulling out of their deals with you which consequently means that you will make less money than you used to.
Governments are also vulnerable as leaks can lead to growing discontent among the people they govern. This means the governing body will not stay in power for long. It also leaves them vulnerable to attacks as the same information that is leaked can be used to plan terrorist attacks and so on.
While not every situation is as severe as the ones stated above, you should stay on the safe side by protecting your documents.
5. Ease of Sharing:
Mobile devices are great and we have all seen the benefits of having them around, including making working so much more convenient. Unfortunately, they also pose a risk. The real-time syncing of devices where everything is shared between devices that belong to an individual is one such problem. Once someone has a document, he or she could have up to five copies (namely, one for each device). Anyone of these could then be shared with the wrong person and be the source of a breach.
By protecting your documents with a document DRM system, you will be able to choose when and where to share a document, with whom and on what devices. In this way, you control every individual who has access.
Conclusion:
Protecting your documents is quickly becoming a requirement in this digital age and for good reason. For your safety and security as well as that of others, try not to get left behind.
