Every company has a legal obligation to protect its customers’ and employees’ privacy. Do you know why, when, and how to destroy your sensitive information? In this blog, we discuss the do’s and don’ts of document shredding.
Don’t: Keep Expired Documents
Businesses must know when to get rid of expired documents. Holding onto unwanted documents longer than necessary creates clutter, increases liability, and increases to the risk of identity theft.
Do: Follow Document Disposition Rules
Although some records are permanent, most expire. As a result, all records should have final disposition dates. A shredding provider who offers records management service can help maintain your records expiration schedule and make sure your expired records are destroyed on a fixed schedule.
Don’t: Discard Sensitive Information in a Trash Receptacle or Recycling Bin
Dumpsters and recycling receptacles are an easy target for criminals. Never discard documents with personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) in the trash, or they may end up in the wrong hands.
Do: Shred Confidential Documents
Document shredding prevents identity theft and business fraud. Outsourcing your documents destruction to a shredding and destruction company ensures your confidential information is securely destroyed.
Don’t: Use an Office Shredder
Do not shred your documents with a store-bought office shredder. Removing paperclips, staples, and rubber bands from your files and feeding everything into the shredder takes time from other important tasks, and discarding your bags of shredded documents into a dumpster increases your identity theft exposure as “dumpster divers” steal and attempt to reconstruct document particles they know are all contained in that one bag.
Do: Partner with a Shredding and Destruction Company
A shredding service is more efficient and secure than in-house document destruction. Your shredding provider’s background-checked, bonded, and insured shredding technicians collect and destroy the contents within a secure chain of custody until its final disposition.
Don’t: Assume All Shredding Providers Protect Your Privacy
Every shredding company is not equal. Knowledge, dependability, experience, security, and customer service greatly vary from provider to provider.
Do: Choose a NAID AAA Certified Provider
NAID stands for the National Association of Information Destruction, the international trade association for companies providing information destruction services. The NAID AAA Certification Program establishes standards for a secure destruction process in the following areas:
- Operational security
- Employee hiring and background screening
- Responsible paper disposal
- Insurance coverage.
When a NAID Member has completed a successful audit, they receive a certificate showing their company name, type of operations, and the specific materials they are certified to destroy. Choosing a NAID AAA Certified shredding provider ensures your documents receive the highest level of privacy protection.
CI Information Management provides full-service records and information management in the Tri-Cities, the Yakima Valley, Walla Walla, Hermiston, OR, Moses Lake, Wenatchee, and nearly everywhere in between.
