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Why shred
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Every Business Has Information That
Requires Destruction.
All businesses have occasion to discard confidential data. Customer
lists, price lists, sales statistics, drafts of bids and letters,
even memos, contain information about business activity, which would
interest any competitor. Every business is also entrusted with information
that must be kept private. Employees and customers have the legal
right to have this data protected.
Without the proper safeguards, information ends up in the dumpster
where it is readily and legally available to anybody. The trash is
considered by business espionage professionals as the single most
available source of competitive and private information from the average
business. Any establishment that discards private property data without
the benefit of destruction exposes itself to the risk of criminal
and civil prosecution, as well as the costly loss of business. |
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Why should
stored records be destroyed on a regular basis? |
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The period of time that business
records are stored should be determined by a retention schedule that
takes into consideration their useful value to the business and the
governing legal requirements. No record should be kept longer than
this retention period.
By not adhering to a program of routinely destroying stored records,
a company exhibits suspicious disposal practices that could be negatively
construed in the event of litigation or audit.
Also, the new "Federal Rule 26" requires that, in the event
of a law suit, each party will provide all relevant records to the
opposing counsel within 85 days of the defendant's initial response.
If either of the litigants does not fulfill this obligation, it could
result in a summary finding against them. By destroying records according
to a set schedule, a company appropriately limits the amount of materials
it must search through to comply with this law. From a risk management
perspective, the only acceptable method of discarding stored records
is to destroy them by a method that ensures that the information is
obliterated. Documenting the exact date that a record is destroyed
is a recommended legal precaution. |
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What is the
difference between per pound and per minute? |
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DSS favors pricing per pound rather
that per minute. Charging per minute provides great protection for
the shredding company, but can be very unfriendly to the customers.
There are subtle and not so subtle issues that should make for customer
cautions.
When charging per minute, the standard is to charge for the time to
collect and shred. Collection time depends on the number of containers,
types of containers and the distance and obstacles (freight elevators)
between them.
The more containers that can be placed, and the longer it takes to
collect the material, the more revenue can be generated, while the
sales pitch can tout it as customer service.
Even more importantly, total time depends on the number of people
doing the work. Most vendors who charge per minute supply only one
person per truck, perhaps because supplying two would reduce the total
billable time by 25-50%! Vendors who charge per pound have an incentive
to put a second person on their trucks to get the job done quickly.
Some materials shred much slower than others, When charging per minute,
the shredding company is insulated from any impact-the customer picks
up the tab.
There is little incentive to upgrade equipment or find a way to operate
more efficiently. Faster service would only mean decreased revenue.
Average on-site shredders shred 900 pounds per hour
Per minute: 2000 pounds average 2.2 hours
@ $3.33 per minute = $466.20
Per pound: 2000 pounds @ $0.16 per pound = $320
Per pound vs. per minute savings = $140 |
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Why not just
use the trashcan or dumpster for disposal of records? |
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Without a program to control it,
the daily trash of every business contains information that could
be harmful. This information is especially useful to competitors because
it contains the details of current activities. Discarded daily records
include phone messages, memos, misprinted forms, drafts of bids and
drafts of correspondence.
All businesses suffer potential exposure due to the need to discard
these incidental business records. The only means of minimizing this
exposure is to make sure such information is securely collected and
destroyed. |
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Couldn't
I recycle and get the same results as shredding? |
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To extract the scrap value from office
paper, recycling companies use unscreened, minimum wage workers to
extensively sort the material under unsecured conditions. The "acceptable"
paper is stored for indefinite periods until there is enough of a
particular type to process. The sorted paper, still intact, is then
baled and sold to the highest bidder, often overseas, where it may
be stored again for weeks or even months until it is finally used
to make new products.
There is no fiduciary responsibility inherent in the recycling scenario.
Paper is given away or sold and, in doing so, a company gives up the
right to say how it is handled. There is, also, no practical means
of establishing the exact date that a record is destroyed. In the
event of an audit or litigation, this could be a legal necessity.
And further, if something of a private nature does surface, the selection
of this unsecured process could be interpreted as negligent. For these
reasons, the choice of recycling as a means of information destruction
is undesirable from a risk management perspective.
If environmental responsibility is a concern, materials may be recycled
after they are destroyed or a firm can contract a service that will
destroy the materials under secure conditions before recycling them.
Any recycling company that minimizes the need for security has its
own interests in mind and should be avoided. |
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Should I trust
my documents to just any shredding company? |
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Take the time to investigate the
company you are dealing with. A "Certificate of Destruction"
is only as good as the company that will be destroying your confidential
information. KNOW THE COMPANY YOU ARE DEALING WITH. Any company contracting
an information destruction service should require that it provide
them with a signed testimonial, documenting the date that the materials
were destroyed. The "certificate of destruction", as it
is commonly referred, is an important legal record of compliance with
a retention schedule. It does not, however, effectively transfer the
responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the materials to
the contractor.
If private information surfaces after the vendor accepts it, the court
is bound to question the process by which the particular contractor
was selected. Any company not showing the due diligence in their selection
of a contractor that is capable of providing the necessary security
could be found negligent.
From a risk management standpoint, if information is leaked by the
fraud or negligence of a vendor, their obligations are irrelevant.
The firm whose information falls into the wrong hands stands to loose
the most, either from the loss of business, prosecution, or unfavorable
publicity.
Since a business cannot transfer its responsibility to maintain confidentiality,
it must be certain that it is dealing with a reputable company with
superior security procedures. Unfortunately, there are those information
services that provide certificates of destruction while having no
semblance of security and, in some cases, no destruction process available
to them. Anyone interested in contracting a data destruction service
is advised to thoroughly review their policies and procedures, conduct
an initial site audit and conduct subsequent unannounced audits. |
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Should I trust
my record storage company to destroy my documents? |
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Most commercial records storage facilities
offer records destruction as a service to their customers. However,
in a survey conducted by the National Association for Information
Destruction, many of those firms were found lacking the equipment
necessary to provide the services themselves. It is a common practice
in the industry to subcontract the destruction of records. In some
cases, disreputable storage firms were found misleading their customer
by charging for secure records destruction while the materials were
being sold to a recycling company for scrap.
Any business using a commercial records storage firm should inquire
as to the nature of the destruction services that are available. It
is an unacceptable risk to permit a storage firm to select a subcontractor
to provide the records destruction service. The owner of the records
is ultimately responsible for their security and, therefore should
be selecting the vendor directly. |
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Couldn't my own employees
shred my documents? |
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Common sense dictates that payroll
information and materials that involve labor relations or legal affairs
should not be entrusted to lower level employees for destruction.
But beyond that, competition sensitive information is best protected
from them as well. It has been established, time and again that employees
are the most likely to realize the value of certain information to
competitors. And, lower wage employees often have the economic incentive
to capitalize their success on it. The only acceptable alternatives
are to have the materials destroyed under the supervision of upper
management or by a carefully selected, high security service. |
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How important
is it to protect the documents of Senior Management? |
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In a survey cited by the Association
for Records Managers and Administrators, Int'l, top executives from
300 companies ranked the security of company records as one of the
top five critical issues facing business. When asked which issues
required immediate attention and policy development, the security
of company records ranked second only to employee health screening.
Information disposal is a crucial
component of any records security program. While most senior executives
do not have the time to become involved directly with this issue,
it is something that is obviously very important to them.
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I have offices
in several states. Can DSS provide service to those locations too?
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DSS provides service to all of Texas
and can assist you in finding service through out the United States. |
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Does DSS supply
locking containers for me to store my material in until I am ready
for a pickup? |
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Yes, DSS has several containers for
you to choose from. All of which are secure and have an opening for
you to deposit material through. |
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What if I
only need to use shredding services one time? |
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DSS can help you for a one time service
or if you need routine shredding DSS can put you on a daily,
weekly or monthly schedule. |
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What happens
to the material after it is destroyed? |
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The paper that is destroyed is sent
to a paper mill to be recycled. |
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Do I have
to remove rubber bands, staples, paper clips or other types of paper
fasteners? |
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No. |
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