Every commercial enterprise has a vested interest in keeping their sensitive data private. On TV, we’ve seen spies receive messages which automatically self-destruct after reading. In the real world, commercial document destruction services can bring this kind of information security for businesses that need to safely get rid of sensitive documents—it might not be as theatrical as in the spy movies, but it works. Here are some things to keep in mind to make sure your data stays private.
Types of Private Data
There’s a wide range of data that is best kept private. The best thing is to hire the professionals who specialize in commercial document destruction services no matter what type you have, but taking a look at the different kinds out there will help you appreciate just how many ways data can be breached.
Famous examples of heavily guarded data include things like the secret recipe to Coca Cola, but many are considerably more mundane, though still very important. Old paperwork may contain information about banking or taxes, or disclose crucial trade secrets or insider data your competitors would love to see. To make sure it’s truly destroyed, hire the professionals.
Your Place, Or Mine?
The best document shredders can either come to your premises to destroy your documents, or securely transfer them to their site, where they will be safely disposed of. Whatever suits you best. In either case, you’ll know your private information is safely gone. Once this data is completely destroyed, you’ll receive a certificate, a small physical token that speaks to the guarantee that your sensitive data has been safely disposed of.
High Standards
If you want to be sure you’re obtaining industry-leading services, be careful to only hire a business that is a member of NAID the only quality-assurance association that verifies security and compliance by using unannounced audits. Many businesses offer to get rid of your sensitive data, but they don’t all go to the trouble of complying with NAID standards.
Beyond merely destroying documents, you want to be sure that the information cannot possibly be retrieved, and that what is gone has been disposed of in a way that’s environmentally friendly. In movies or TV, they sometimes show detectives piecing together and reassembling shredded documents, and while it looks agonizing and extremely time consuming, it seems possible—the shredded documents are placed in a bag, which is then tossed in a conveniently located garbage bin discovered by the sleuths before it can be emptied.
In the real world, companies like Absolute Destruction ensure that the shredded documents themselves are guarded and disposed of, too. Once the company has undertaken the work (whether we’re talking about paper or electronics), the data may as well be vanished from the face of the Earth. In reality, both the paper and the electronics are recycled, not vanished, but there is simply no way for bad actors to get their hands on sensitive information.
Green-Friendly
If electronic components aren’t disposed of properly, it can be quite detrimental for the environment. One single device is made up of different kinds of metal and materials. It’s important to make sure that materials that need to be carefully recycled don’t end up in general trash.
You want a company that can guarantee their ability to keep your data out of the wrong hands, and put it into the right recycling bin. Make sure you hire top-tier professionals when you need to dispose of commercial documents.