Protecting sensitive and private information has become one of the biggest concerns for businesses over the last decade. Though there is currently no “all governing” federal privacy law, there are various federal laws, state laws, and industry requirements dictating how businesses should handle digital media and physical documents that may contain private information. These include strict rules on how these sensitive materials should be disposed of once they are out of date.
This mean it is your businesses responsibility to come up with a plan for how you will handle your hard drive destruction and paper shredding. Your business can choose to dispose of outdated documents and data drives containing private information internally or choose to outsource it to a secure document shredding company. Below are 5 reasons to choose outsourcing your paper shredding and document shredding to an NAID AAA certified destruction company.
5 Important benefits to outsourcing your company’s shredding needs.
1. Information and Identity Theft Prevention
Any exposure of your classified or private documents can create unnecessary risk. Shredding documents “in-house” can expose your sensitive documents, especially if they are tossed in an unsecure disposal bin, trash can, or recycling bin. A professional paper shredding company uses a secure chain of custody process which greatly minimizes exposure of your documents. A background checked, security professional will collect your sensitive paper documents and transport them to a transport vehicle in locked, secure bins. In On-Site mobile shredding, the shredding professional will shred your documents on your business’ premises in front of a representative from your company. In off-site paper shredding, the shredding professional will transport the locked bins containing your private documents via GPS tracked trucks to the shredding facility. The shredding process is then recorded for record. Once your documents have been destroyed, a paper shredding company will then provide you with a certificate of destruction to keep for your records.
2. Sustainability
We all have a certain responsibility to do our part to help protect the environment. Simply tossing your outdated sensitive documents in a blue recycling bin does not do enough to prevent information or identify theft, as these documents can easily be stolen in transport to the landfill or at the landfill. When you choose to use a secure document shredding company, you get the benefit of sustainability with the added bonus of security. In this process, your company will be provided with locked security bins for your employees to deposit any documents that are outdated and ready to be destroyed. Once your shredding partner has collected and destroyed the documents, the shredded paper is then put in bails, pulped and recycled.
3. Compliance
There are various state and federal laws that address how personally identifiable information (PII) of employees and customers must be protected. These privacy laws include HIPAA, FACTA, GLBA and SOX and set requirements for the storage, control, access, and disposal of PII. It is the responsibility of businesses to make sure that these guidelines are followed. Failure to comply could result in information or identity theft and result in your company facing fines or penalties. Outsourcing your shredding to a document destruction service eliminates a lot of risk of non-compliance, as all of your sensitive documents will be handled by professionals that completely understand all of the federal and state requirements for storage and destruction. Once your documents are destroyed, your shredding partner will always provide your company with a certificate of destruction, verifying that all of your documents were destroyed in full compliance with privacy laws.
4. Save Time & Money
Operating and maintaining an in-house shredding machine can be time consuming and difficult. Most office shredders are unreliable machines than can only process small amounts of paper at a time. In addition, office shredders are unable to process staples, paper clips, binders, or any other foreign objects. This means that your employees will most likely have to spend a significant amount of time prepping any documents that need to be shredded to make sure that they are free of anything that could damage or dull the blades of the office shredder. This combined with the slow speed of office shredders can really be an inefficient, time consuming process. Outsourcing your shredding is a much more efficient process. Professional shredding trucks and shredding machines are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and high strength shredding blades that can separate any foreign materials such as paper clips and staples from your paper documents and shred them in bulk. This eliminates the need for your employees to spend time on prep and shredding, enabling to focus on their job specific tasks.
5. Your Piece of Mind
Your company’s reputation is very important. A data breach can cause long-term damage to your brand reputation and cause you to lose trust in the local community. Outsourcing your shredding to a document destruction company gives you the peace of mind you need knowing your sensitive papers are destroyed in a secure, compliant, and environmentally friendly manner. For more information on how your company can benefit from outsourcing your paper shredding to a document destruction partner, contact RW Lone Star today at 254-774-9553. RW Lone Star Security is a CVE Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and NAID Certified for On-Site Mobile Shredding to include Paper/Printed Media, Computer Hard Drives and Non-Paper Media, Data Tape, CD/DVD media, and have been servicing both government agencies and private companies of all sizes now for over 12+ years.
RW Lone Star is a Texas based company and proud to be the top choice for paper shredding in Austin, as well as the most trusted paper shredding company in San Antonio, Waco, and Temple, as well as their surrounding communities.
