While many businesses believe disposing of sensitive documents and data ends after they have been shredded or destroyed, it does not. If you are not properly disposing of your shredded documents and data, then there is still a real possibility of your data getting in the wrong hands.
While reconstructing shredded documents is no easy task, it can still be done. This means you should be extremely careful with shredded documents until they are properly disposed of.
In this article, we will look at why businesses shred old documents, and how to properly dispose of documents after they have been through the shredding process.
Why Do Businesses Shred Their Old, Sensitive Documents?
Document shredding is a practice that various businesses partake in. Most organizations have different methods that they use to verify that their documents are sufficiently destroyed. But why?
There are several reasons as to why businesses tend to shred their sensitive documents. The main reasons are:
It’s a Legal Requirement - The main reason why so many businesses shred their old, sensitive and confidential documents is that it is a legal requirement, according to the U.S. Data Privacy Laws. These laws state that unless otherwise required by federal law, a business must take reasonable steps to destroy any paperwork that contains sensitive data.
It Creates More Office Space - One of the simplest but also effective reasons behind destroying old documents is that it helps to make more space within your office environment. Too many businesses have piles of documents taking up prime real estate that could be utilized for other areas of the business.
Protects Customers & Employees - Getting rid of old documents that include sensitive data about your customers and employees can help to protect them. This is because identity theft is one of the most prominent crimes around the world. Destroying this sensitive data guarantees that it does not end up in the wrong hands, and protects your customers and employees from potential crimes.
Environmental Reasons - Another reason behind the popularity of document shredding is its environmental benefits. Paper shredding reduces the carbon footprint of your business. This is because it is a process that reduces both energy and water consumption. In fact, it decreases the impact that your business has on the environment.
Why Does Proper Document Disposal Matter?
Accurate data destruction has always been incredibly important. But it has become even more significant now that a vast number of well-known companies have experienced extremely harmful cyber attacks. While this is mostly data-driven, a massive amount of data breaches are still caused by negligent document disposal.
Data thieves do not need a huge amount of data to be able to steal an individual's identity and access all of their accounts. Therefore, businesses need to take extra care when it comes to the storing and disposal of such confidential and sensitive data.
Shredding is such a popular method because it is by far the most effective and efficient data destruction technique.
3 Important Steps for Document Disposal
When it comes to document disposal, three steps must always be followed to establish that documents are properly disposed of. These steps ensure that no data can be leaked and that businesses do not have unnecessary piles of sensitive data lying around that could be vulnerable to ending up in the wrong hands.
The first step of this process is to begin shredding these sensitive documents. This can be done through a typical commercial paper shredder, or larger industrial paper shredders if you are a big organization that has considerable quantities of documents.
However, it is important to use crosscut shredders when shredding documents as they produce much thinner strips of paper. This makes it difficult for documents to be reconstructed, and the sensitive data on them to be leaked.
This is a step that is often overlooked by businesses because it can be slightly time-consuming and tedious. However, this is one of the most crucial steps of the destruction process.
Separating the shredded materials from one another allows sensitive data to remain protected. This separation step guarantees that there is no chance of the documents being reconstructed when piecing together shredded materials.
When disposing of your shredded data, it is imperative to comply with safe disposal practices to verify that your data is as secure as possible. While you may think that your data is completely illegible, it is critical to make sure that all precautions have been taken into account.
You should first separate the shredded materials into recyclable and non-recyclable bags, or shredder bins, to ensure environmental responsibility. You should then pack up the shredded materials into opaque containers so no data can be accidentally exposed.
Once you have completed these steps, you can use professional services for the safe and secure disposal of your shredded documents so you can be assured that you have done everything possible to keep your data protected.
It is essential to remain vigilant throughout the whole data destruction process. Check that no documents are left unattended, and that data destruction processes adhere to all relevant Data Privacy Regulations and organization policies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the whole process of data destruction from the very start to the end is important. Because of this, the highest level of attention to detail is required until the shredding of your documents has been completed.
The disposal of shredded data is often where most organizations start to slack and could be at their most vulnerable when it comes to documents and data being leaked. Therefore, making sure that you are following stringent processes and data privacy regulations needs to be at the forefront of the process.
