“WHY SHOULD I SHRED?”
I. Public Image
Leaked or discovered confidential documents can jeopardize the public’s perception of your company. These days, dumpster diving has become a common journalistic practice. A thorough data destruction practice can ensure that company privacy is maintained and the power of information distribution remains in your hands.
II. Your Customers
Your customers trust your company with sensitive and personal information. Proper data locking and destruction practices add an extra layer of comfort and security, helping to reduce incidents of potential identity theft and information abuse.
III. Your Employees
Employees, both current and past, have legal rights to require the shredding of their documents before they are discarded.
Insurance Records, Employment Applications, Tax Forms, and Accident Reports are all examples of information that must be legally protected.
IV. Company Ethics
In these days it’s very important to integrate the highest ethical standards into your company practice. Disposing of data recklessly exposes all shareholders to the many preventable risks of today’s world, such as ID theft and exposing in-company trade secrets.
V. Your Trade Secrets
The US Court System has declared that they will not recognize trade information protections if the company does not take every recommended legal step to protect the information themselves.
In short, the US Justice System says that information ownership rights are forfeited to discarded information.
VI. Finally, The Law.
An increasing number of laws actually require organizations to shred their documents or they may be held liable with steep fines imposed.
HIPPA (healthcare), FACTA (credit reporting), and Gramm Leach Bliley (financial) require physical safeguards, such as shredding document destruction to meet regulation requirements.