Do’s and Don’ts of Media Shredding
Does your business have expired backup tapes, hard drives, and other electronic devices? The longer they sit around, the greater your exposure to privacy breaches. In this blog, we discuss the do’s and don’ts of media shredding.
Don’t: Throw Your Media in the Trash
Criminals search for discarded devices in trash and recycling bins. If your media lands in the wrong hands, your customers and employees may become identity theft victims. Discarding hard drives in trash bins or other unapproved receptacles also has environmental ramifications. Toxins from hard drives, backup tapes, and electronic devices that end up in landfills pollute valuable ecological resources.
Do: Use a Media Destruction Service
A reputable media shredding provider offers secure, environmentally-friendly destruction of your devices. A uniformed and background-screened shredding technician comes to your business and collects your hard drives. During collection, the bar code of each device is scanned and the device is transferred to a secure, GPS-tracked vehicle for transport to the shredding plant. After the media is destroyed, your media shredding provider separates and recycles the electronic waste through a raw-material extraction process. These materials are then used to produce new metal and plastic products.
Don’t: Assume Erasing Devices Protects Your Data
Thieves can extract PII and PHI from “erased” devices. In a study conducted by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), 40 percent of used electronic devices sold on the secondhand market contained PII.
Do: Physically Destroy Your Expired Media
A reputable media shredding provider offers secure, physical destruction of your devices. They use a state-of-the-art shredder that applies 20,000 pounds of conical force onto your media to render stored data irrecoverable.
Don’t: Assume a Media Shredding Provider Provides Proof of Destruction
To comply with state and federal privacy regulations, you must have written verification for destruction of media containing PII and PHI. Not every media shredding provider offers proof of destruction.
Do: Ask for a Certificate of Destruction
A reputable media shredding provider always provides a Certificate of Destruction after destroying your media. The time, date, and each device’s serial number are listed on the Certification of Destruction.
Don’t: Settle for a Provider Who Does Not Meet Industry Standards
A media shredding provider who does not follow best practices and industry guidelines puts your data at risk.
Do: Partner with a NAID AAA Certified Media Destruction Company
The National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) provides oversight for the paper shredding and media destruction industry. To achieve NAID AAA Certification, a shredding company must pass audits by third-party security professionals confirming their compliance with the following requirements:
- Personnel screening practices
- Equipment and facility safety
- Liability Insurance
Only a NAID AAA Certified media shredding company offers assurance that your information is destroyed according to the highest standards in the shredding and destruction industry.
Richards & Richards offers shredding, hard drive destruction, media destruction, and electronics recycling solutions for businesses throughout Nashville. For more information about hard drive shredding services, please call us at 615-242-9600 or complete the form on this page.
