Some of the mistakes we commit may be harmless, while others lead us to severe consequences. Document and data destruction is one of the perfect examples of mistakes we often make unknowingly. It is critical to understand that if one of your documents tossed in the trash results in a data breach, you and your business could be fined or sued, or even both.
Preserving documents for too long can lead your business to fraud risks. Some of the business documents need to be shredded very quickly, while others have to be preserved for a longer time. There are various ways to adopt green initiatives into your personal and work life as well, while you go for data destruction. A reputed shredding service provider helps you take green initiatives as they recycle 100% of the material destructed. Usually, a business commits some mistakes while shredding its critical information. Some of the most noticeable are:
- More dependence on office shredders
Office shredders are the most preferred choice for shredding documents. But these may not be the most efficient and secure solution, especially for large-scale document destruction. Moreover, these shredders limit the quantity of paper to be shredded, and all staples, paperclips, or binding material needs to be removed from the documents. These shredders are also not capable of destroying electronic media like hard drives, flash drives, or data stored on other digital devices. Outsourcing your data destruction needs saves time, and ensures that documents are destroyed in a secure manner while ensuring your primary green initiative objective. A certified data destruction company from the list of USA Shredding Services is a trusted and dependable document destruction provider. They offer onsite or offsite data destruction as per your unique needs.
- Inadequate document retention policy
A company has to safeguard documents for some time to ensure compliance. But retaining those documents after they are not needed in the future increases privacy risks and can lead to data theft. In addition, the company has to bear unnecessary storage expenses. Different types of documents have different lifespans, so it is vital to have a designated process for their final disposition dates. For example, bank and credit statements can be held for a year, and then should be shredded. Property purchase documents need to be secured for at least seven years after you no longer own the property, while all legal documents, like deeds and long-term contracts, must be preserved for a longer period.
- Failing to provide a destruction certificate
A valid and verifiable proof of data destruction is inevitable. In order to be compliant with state and federal laws, your company must provide an authentic data destruction certificate. A professional data destruction service provider listed under USA Shredding Services provides a Certificate of Destruction as valid proof after the completion of each shredding process. This certificate is proof of your company’s compliance and you can show it in case a regulator or auditor demands proof for safe and secure data and document destruction.
Ethics of secure shredding company
In any information interaction system, security concern remains on top. Any information must securely lie between the stakeholder and the original. Any data breach can result in irreversible damage and may provide serious theft to an organization. Data breaches, identity thefts, fraud, and sabotage are some examples of damages. All stakeholders need to mitigate these risks while preserving the critical data of their clients.
Some of the ethical considerations related to safe data destruction are listed below:
- Maintaining trust: Any business can flourish only when it gains the trust of its stakeholders. Therefore, safe data and document destruction is a must to ensure protect trust and confidentiality of the clients.
- Legal consequences: It is of utmost importance to have well-designed document retention and shredding policy. This helps a business to maintain records in an effective manner and keep them away from any legal ramifications that may arise in near future.
- Preserving privacy: Stakeholders incorporate their trust in a business when they share their personal information and da a. It is the duty of an organization to maintain the right ethical practices while keeping its privacy intact.
- Going green with green initiatives: A noble way of shredding your documents is focusing on green initiatives and helping keep our mother earth green. As per an estimate, an average US office worker uses 10,000 paper sheets every year. Imagining the environmental damage done through this paper waste is astronomical. USA Shredding Services help you connect with secure shredding companies, ensuring the safe recycling of all the destroyed material.
Conclusion
Starting green initiatives and following safe data destruction ethics is not hard. Outsourcing your data destruction process helps retain records management-related ethics and should be an essential part of the work culture of any business. Choose a certified company like USA Shredding Services, which is associated with data destruction companies that ensure all electronic media, and paper documents are destroyed within a strict chain of custody while meeting all professional compliances.
