The large U.S. economy provides a perfect platform for us to learn about privacy. Why? Because a security flaw in a US business could affect Australia’s population many times over (see JP Morgan’s recent breach). Here’s what we can learn from one federal agency’s audit of their data sharing activities.
The U.S. Postal Service found several risks associated with the handling of ‘change-of-address’ records. Auditors of the U.S. Postal Service reported “Security controls … are not sufficient to protect the confidentiality and integrity of customer information”.
Discrepancies were found in the enforcement of security policies. Hundreds of companies have ‘authorised’ access to change-of-address details which are then on-sold to advertisers and direct mailers.
Despite the Postal Service having a policy stipulating security checks were to be performed, none were … not even at the application stage of the process.
Furthermore the U.S. Postal Services’ own facility supervisors were not aware that there was a need to protect customers’ information and store the information securely. The audit found a storage facility storing confidential information in the open for any employee to access.
Here in Australia it’s also your business’ responsibility to ensure total confidentiality of the data you hold. Once you no longer require the data it must be destroyed or de-identified. Be sure to check third-parties use a reputable service provider that upholds the highest levels of security.
With fines up to $1.7 million dollars for serious and repeated breaches of privacy isn’t it time you asked your service providers if they use Shred-X?
All our staff are police checked and security bonded. Our facilities are state-of-the-art and comply with (or exceed) all federally mandated guidelines for secure document destruction and shredding. These company owned destruction facilities are located in every state of Australia allowing us to tailor a nationwide solution to large organisations and government departments.
Read the article on the Washington Post’s website.
For nearly 15 years Shred-X Document Destruction has been the leader in secure destruction services. We assist organisations in complying with the Privacy Act 1988 and its Amendments providing tailored services to thousands of commercial sites and households across Australia. Our secure destruction services include document destruction, digital media destruction (hard drives, CDs, credit cards), archive box cleanouts, and clothing destruction to name a few.