How does your business handle privacy protection? Private and sensitive information is an important part of many industries, especially when it comes to security in transportation and destruction. If you’re looking to outsource your information needs to a destruction service provider or would simply like to make sure you’re receiving the best service possible, there are a few key questions to pose before locking in your business.
Just like many other industries, there are cowboys out there that may look the part but don’t necessarily deliver on their eluded promises. Before you hand over your sensitive information and the keys to your business, be sure you pose these questions to your secure destruction provider.
Whether you decide to use Shred-X or not, ensure you use a NAID provider.
Q1 – Ask if your current provider is NAID certified?
When dealing with secure information, engaging a NAID AAA certified service provider is a must. The National Association for Information Destruction is the international governing body for businesses offering secure information destruction services that can provide the highest industry level certification available. To attain NAID AAA Certification, companies must undertake rigorous training and screening processes to ensure compliance with the stringent standards of the certification. So why is this important to you? By approaching a qualified supplier like Shred-X, you can rest easy knowing that all legal and ethical standards are consistently monitored and upheld. At Shred-X, we’re certified to shred!
Q2 – Are all staff members police checked?
One of the best ways to differentiate a safe and reputable destruction service provider is through their integration of rigid policies and procedures. This should generally include strict guidelines on how the information is collected, transported, stored and destroyed and should particularly focus on the individual employees that they choose to hire. As part of the NAID AAA Certification, all Shred-X staff members are required to undergo federal police checks and clearance in order to safeguard your information. Similarly, all staff are required to follow a complete chain of custody, from collecting your data with our alarmed, locked and GPS tracked vehicles to dismantling the waste as required under strict security conditions and 24hour CCTV surveillance. With our expert team of security vetted staff, outsourcing to Shred-X means never worrying about your data going astray.
Q3 – Does your company own the shredding facility or is my confidential data delivered to a third party?
If the answer is no, alarms bells should start ringing. If data is actually delivered to a third party, alarm bells should now be deafening. Generally, when sensitive data is delivered to a third party, there is no guarantee it has been sufficiently shredded and is likely baled and sent overseas for recycling. More than 770,000 Australians have been victims of identity theft in the past year which is costing the average person approx. $4000. Why risk it? With Shred-X, you can rest assured that all information is destroyed in a secure and irretrievable manner.
Q4 – Can I come and visit your facility?
When entrusting a company with important, private information, it seems appropriate to want to know exactly what goes on behind closed doors. At Shred-X, we operate with total transparency which is why we love to take clients on a tour of our facilities. If you’re a little unsure of exactly what we do or would simply like the assurance of witnessing it first hand, contact Shred-X today to organize a guided visit to one of our eight NAID AAA certified facilities.
Q5 – What happens to my paper?
Rather than simply trusting that your documents and archives are handled correctly, it’s important to query what exactly is going to happen to your information once it is handed over. Although cross-cutting your documents is an excellent start, take things a step further by completely destroying your data once it has been churned, allowing you to be confident that any old documents or archive boxes will never resurface. As all paper shreddings are pressed into large paper bales/cubes before releasing them for recycling, teaming with Shred-X means never having to worry about data breaches that could result from documents being discarded in general waste or recycling streams.
Q6 – What happens to my e-waste?
For obvious reasons, e-waste and digital data are quite different from paper waste, which is why it’s important that this information is handled in the appropriate manner. Yes, it can be tempting to simply delete the unwanted files and reutilise or donate your old electrics when the information becomes outdated, however, preventing your private information from being compromised is much more complex than simply deleting your files. When passed through the wrong hands, deleted digital information is quite simple to recover and can therefore leave your business open to potential privacy leaks and legal ramifications. This is where degaussing and destruction are essential. To ensure all information is permanently destroyed, magnetic waves can be sent through your device to render the data completely unusable. However, at Shred-X we don’t stop there. After the degaussing process is complete, the remains are then physically destroyed and separately recycled for complete assurance and peace of mind.
Q7 – Do you have sustainability practices in place?
In an industry that has the potential to create so much waste, it is important to query your shredding partner in regards to their sustainability practices. At Shred-X, we take pride in our ability to minimise our carbon footprint through solid ethical and sustainable recycling practices. Through creating strong partnerships with companies such as Australian Paper who are just as dedicated to corporate social responsibility, we are now able to reutilise 98.5% of the materials that pass through our hands. At a time where unsustainable practices are under much scrutiny, Shred-X remain committed to providing a secure and dependable service that doesn’t cost the earth.
Q8 – If there is a data breach, do you take the risk?
One of the most important questions to ask a potential destruction service provider is how they deal with the responsibility of data breaches. The reason many businesses choose to outsource their destruction needs is to ensure their compliance with the Australian privacy legislation as well as alleviating the responsibility of destruction to the capable hands of a professional. For this reason, it is important to query the provider to ascertain culpability in regard to data breaches; if they aren’t willing to take responsibility for their actions, how can you be sure that they will take every precaution necessary to safeguard your information? This is where partnering with Shred-X is so valuable. Upon destruction of your sensitive data, Shred-X supply a Certificate of Destruction to provide evidence of the reasonable steps you have taken to de-identify and destroy personal information that is in line with the Australian privacy principles.
Vendor selection due diligence – Do your research
Don’t just take their word for it, make sure to do proper research before selecting a vendor. By completing a comprehensive appraisal of your potential destruction partner (including the previous eight questions – plus any you can think of), you’re putting yourself in the best possible position to guarantee your privacy. Whether you’re conducting an office clean out or simply no longer need the data, make sure to always use a qualified destruction supplier. After all, this decision has the potential to bring about a range of legal, ethical and reputational issues when not handled correctly (including fines of up to $340,000 for individuals and $170,000,000 for government agencies) (and we haven’t even touched on the Mandatory Breach Notification taking effective in February 2018),so make sure to do your research!
Contact the Shred-X Team today to arrange a privacy assessment of your business and choose a supplier that’s qualified to protect your privacy.