Competitors Unshredded documents and other media can be used by competitors to gain trade secrets, gather financial information and find your customers. |
Criminals Personal information put out for trash or recycling has a high value to those looking to commit crimes such as credit card fraud, bank fraud and Identity Theft. |
Investigators Company information that is not securely destroyed on-site can land in the hands of private investigators, researchers, and journalists. |
You Should Shred Your Documents – Never Carelessly Discard Anything!
If you or your business does not shred your documents, and fails to maintain the security and privacy of its documents, it fails to protect the company’s, employees’ and customers’ confidential information. If confidential information falls into the wrong hands, the results can be costly, including public relations embarrassments, lawsuits, fines and loss of revenue. Keeping your documents confidential is your business’ responsibility. If you or your company fails at meeting this responsibility, you may be held legally and financially responsible for the loss. It is important for your company to treat all sensitive documents appropriately.
Document security isn’t just good business, it’s the law. Recent federal and state legislation holds businesses to high standards of confidentiality, and failure to comply could result in fines and/or litigation.
The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law to prevent abuses of personal health information, including unauthorized access. Institutions that must comply with HIPAA are called Covered Entities. Covered Entities include any and all organizations or individuals who retain or collect health related information. There are also Small Covered Entities such as Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Counselors, Urgent Care Centers, Billing Centers, Physical Therapists and Collection Agencies. According to HIPAA, every Covered Entity regardless of size, must have documented policies defining reasonable measures they have instituted to prevent unauthorized access. Destroying all discarded patient information is a very important requirement for HIPAA.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) was signed into law in 2003. FACTA is a federal law designed to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft created by improper disposal of consumer information. The FACTA disposal rule applies to virtually every person and business in the United States. It requires the destruction of all consumer information before it is discarded. Potential severe penalties await violators.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) requires companies engaged in financial activities to provide secure handling of client records and information. These companies include banks, mortgage and finance companies, brokers and underwriters, securities and investment firms, and non-bank financial service firms.
State and local legislation is being proposed and passed throughout the nation in response to public alarm over privacy protection and identity theft. An increasing number of laws require organizations that handle sensitive data to protect information when it is discarded. Many of these new laws specify shredding as the most reliable method of destruction
Without the proper safeguards, information ends up in the dumpster where it is readily, and legally, available to anybody. Going through your trash isn’t illegal. The Supreme Court ruled in 1988 that once trash is left for pickup, it is public domain, with no expectation of privacy or ownership. Armed with bits of information from company trash, hackers invade networks, competitors gain an edge, and criminals steal the identity from millions of unsuspecting businesses and individuals. Any business that inappropriately discards private and proprietary data without secure destruction exposes itself to these risks, as well as the risk of criminal and civil prosecution and fines.
Reduce risk and costs with the experts in information destruction compliance. Secure Document Destruction can help you establish a secure, compliant, comprehensive, and cost-effective Information Destruction Policy for your business or organization.
Secure Document Destruction believes in protecting the environment and is committed to recycling 100% of your shredded documents. When you partner with Secure Document Destruction, your business becomes “Greener”while protecting your document security needs.
The benefits to the environment are measurable. According to the EPA, making one ton of paper using recycled fiber saves the following: 17 trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 360 gallons of water, 100 gallons of gasoline, 60 pounds of air pollutants and 10,401 kilowatts of electricity.