Identity Theft
Today’s business managers and consumers are getting savvier about protecting their privacy and identity. But a heightened awareness of the importance of paper shredding has led to a few persistent misconceptions about data security.
1. Particle Size Matters Most
Well-intentioned office managers often presume that, when it comes to paper shredding or hard drive destruction, smaller particle size always equals greater security. While it is important for shredded material to be practically unreconstructable, there are other points of vulnerability to consider beyond the risk of someone piecing together shredded paper or electronics. This is why government agencies stress the process of data destruction, rather than the resulting particle size. Regulations focus on best practices for the collection, transport, processing and disposal of sensitive material.
Don’t be overly impressed by the size of the particles that any particular shredding company claimed to produce. Particles that are 1/26” aren’t inherently more secure than particles that are 1/32”. Instead, ask how secure their data destruction process is. A good way to measure that is to check for National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certification. NAID verifies approximately 20 different aspects of a data destruction company’s process before awarding certification.
2. In-house Paper Shredding is Best
There’s a mentality that if you want something done right, do it yourself. But when it comes to data destruction, handling it in-house may actually leave you more liable. Shredded confidential documents in the dumpster behind your office building are easy targets for two reasons:
1. Dumpsters on public roads or even private alleys are easily, and in some cases, legally accessible.
2. Experienced dumpster divers know that shredded documents contain the most valuable information; that’s what they’ll grab first.
Outsourcing your paper shredding solves these issues by disposing your processed documents in a receptacle or facility that is not open to the public and by comingling your shredded documents with material from other clients.
3. All Paper Recycling is Secure
Many businesses have arrangements with recycling companies who buy their office paper, pick it up and take it to their facility for processing and baling. While these companies serve an important role for the environment, the purpose of this service is completely different from secure data destruction. This arrangement is purely for the sale of recyclables, and doesn’t account for the security of your company’s information. Sensitive documents could be compromised in transit to the facility or even at the facility by an employee. A more secure way to dispose of your recyclable material is to shred them on-site, right before your eyes.
Go Green Mobile Shredding is a NAID Member data destruction company that can shred your hard drives, digital media and paper on site, right in your parking lot. We issue a certificate of destruction documenting the secure processing of your materials and then bring them to a certified recycling facility.
Call Go Green Mobile Shredding today to learn how your office can protect its data and save the environment.
Do It Yourself Paper Shredding Risks
Shredding paper seems like a simple task—especially when you can pick up an office paper shredder at any big box store. Operating a small paper shredder requires about as much technical expertise as running a copy machine, which convinces many managers to relegate the task of shredding sensitive documents to menial office laborers. But your internal document destruction procedure may not be as secure or cost effective as you think. Here’s why:
Paper Shredding on the Clock is Costly
When factoring in the costs of handling paper shredding on-site, you have to consider the payroll costs in addition to the equipment costs. That shredder may have only cost you a few hundred dollars, but how much is that high level employee getting paid to shred papers for eight hours every week? This is a classic case of wasted resources.
Low Level Employees Can’t Be Trusted
As a solution to the cost effectiveness conundrum above, managers may opt to charge interns, temps or part-timers with the task of shredding paper. However, these workers have the least loyalties to the company and may opt for short cuts (i.e. putting it in a dumpster rather than shredding it) or other ambitious applications (i.e. selling information to competitors or the media).
Disposal Must Be Documented
To properly cover your bases and protect yourself from liability, destruction of confidential documents should be documented. This includes: the date and time of the destruction, the means of destruction, the place of destruction, the name of the person who performed the destruction and the signature of a manager verifying the destruction. With these added logistical duties, the task of shredding paper becomes all the more time-consuming and complex. And if you forgo these steps, you won’t be doing your due diligence in protecting the privacy of your company and clients.
Underpowered On-Site Shredders are Less Secure
Although shredded documents are more difficult for would-be identity thieves to read, a determined criminal can piece together information from shredded paper using scanners and software. This is especially feasible when the shredded paper hasn’t been intermingled with other documents. Furthermore, most office shredders cut the paper into strips. A more secure method for shredding paper is to pierce and tear the paper into tiny, irrecoverable pieces.
Shredding On-Site May Be Unsustainable
Because shredded paper is ungainly and difficult to handle, many municipal recycling facilities won’t accept shredded paper for curbside pickup. Because of this, many business owners choose to dispose of shredded office paper instead of recycling it, which equals a significant missed opportunity for the environment.
Contrary to popular belief, tasking one or more of your own employees to handle paper shredding is neither a shortcut nor a cost-saving measure. At Go Green Mobile Shredding, we can offer you affordable on-site shredding that is more secure, faster and easier than the vast majority of DIY shredding schemes.
Call (877) 821-0218 to find out how we can save you time and money.
We’ve already discussed the dangers that improperly disposed eWaste and electronic media can pose in terms of identity theft, liability and compromised trade secrets. But preventing internal documents from reaching the public is also important to your business, especially if you have a reputation to protect. Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle and the Internet, even relatively innocuous internal memos and training videos can quickly be escalated into national scandal or ridicule. It’s impossible to predict what type of content will go viral—and what may seem uninteresting to you may be a meme by lunchtime if it falls into the wrong hands. Take a look at some of these leaks of corporate information that had embarrassing or damaging impacts and see for yourself.
Apple iPhone 4 Leaked Troubleshooting Procedures
When the new Apple iPhone 4 first hit the market, it had a problem: if you held it a certain way, you’d lose all signal. This flaw caused uproar among consumers and earned the smartphone a “can’t recommend” rating from Consumer Reports. Eventually, Apple admitted fault in its design and offered all iPhone 4 owners a free case to fix the problem. But in the meantime, the company conspicuously denied any shortcomings in the phone. In spite of this, Apple anticipated a flood of troubleshooting calls for the problem and prepped its customer support staff with a series of deflections and deferrals of blame. The memo was leaked by an Apple employee and posted on Boy Genius Report, with one of the most damning details being the explicit instruction to refuse warranty service.
While Apple has every right to attempt to control the message, this peek behind the curtain didn’t help the company’s image. The very existence of the guidelines implicitly confirmed that the company had acknowledged the problem and was willfully withholding solutions. And although most consumers are aware that customer support sessions are fairly scripted, seeing it out in the open makes it feel even more dehumanizing.
Wendy’s “Hot Drinks” Training Video an Embarrassing Reminder of the 90s
Training videos are, in some ways, a necessary evil. Getting new employees up to speed on procedures in a way that is consistent and memorable is a challenge that can only be met by a talented training force. To address the consistency issue, as well as to save HR staff from the tedium of repeating the same lessons over and over, videos can stand-in for a humdrum lecture or pamphlet. But occasionally, the producers take the illustrative and mnemonic elements of training videos a little too far. Case in point: this ultra-campy music video that teaches Wendy’s employees the proper procedure for serving hot drinks. This attempt to level with young employees was undoubtedly cheesy back in the 1990s—but it certainly hasn’t aged well, either. Granted, the tune is catchy enough and the premise is off the wall enough that employees likely did get the message. But looking back, it makes Wendy’s look tragically unhip and out of touch.
The only thing more cringeworthy than this music video is the sequel: cold drinks.
Climate-Gate Sparks Global Controversy in Science Community
It’s wrong to assume that electronic data disappears from the face of the earth once it’s deleted. That point was proven a thousand times over when a hacker tapped into an archived email server at the University of Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. The hacker illegally downloaded over 1,000 emails and 3,000 other documents, some of which dated as far back as 1996. Most fatefully was a discussion where a scientist shared a “trick” that would “hide the decline” in a graph showing temperatures over time. These four words were taken out of context and upheld as evidence that global warming studies were a conspiratorial hoax and that the researchers involved were hacks and frauds. The researchers were eventually exonerated, but the media frenzy and inquiries were undoubtedly disruptive to their work and damaging to their careers.
There are three lessons we can learn from all of this:
• What seems like SOP internally may be extremely controversial in the light of day.
• Digital media can preserve data for decades—it could just be a matter of time before it comes back to haunt you.
• Damage to your reputation can be just as bad for business as failed compliance in data disposal.
The solution? Keep close tabs on all of your documents, videos, emails, training materials, memos, business plans, surveillance videos, meetings minutes and other information that’s intended for internal use only. And once it’s outlived its usefulness, shred it. It takes just one careless of mischievous employee to turn a quirky or controversial piece of information into an Internet phenomenon, so don’t take your chances.
For more information on mobile hard drive destruction and digital media shredding, call Go Green Mobile Shredding at (877) 821-0218.
Anyone who’s seen a heist movie knows that valuables become most vulnerable in transit. While the proprietary information, company records and client data harbored within your office walls may not be as glamorous as crown jewels or as epic as government gold bars, protecting them from identity thieves, corporate spies and other malicious parties is just as important. The relocation of your office poses a plethora of security challenges—but it also provides opportunities for strengthening your company’s data security and record retention policies. Consider the following as you prepare to move your business.
Move Less, Spend Less, Risk Less
Movers don’t come for cheap, and each box of sensitive records that leaves your loading dock is another liability on the open road. Since your employees and archivists will already be sifting through file boxes and old records, take this time to shred what’s outdated, no longer needed or past the threshold where you are legally obligated to retain it. At Go Green Mobile Shredding, we recommend that office managers call us ahead of time and let us know that they’re planning a purge. We can drop off as many secure lockboxes as you need so your employees can deposit their sensitive documents as they clean out their desks and work areas. Then, we can pick them up and shred them on site, lightening your load and lessening your security risks.
Old Electronics are Treasure Troves for Identity Thieves
Hard Drive Photo Before
Hard Drive Photo After
Moving out often means moving up, and your new facility may feature all new technology and computers. But instead of leaving your discarded computer towers, servers and copiers on the curb, do your duty in disposing of them properly. Even hard drives that have been wiped clean or formatted can still contain residual data, such as Social Security numbers, customer lists and credit card information. And if you leave them in a dumpster, donate them or have a garage sale, you’re essentially relinquishing control of that information. For example, if a competitor obtains company secrets by picking up your discarded hard drive at Goodwill, you’ll have very little legal recourse since you willfully handed it over. While it may seem like a charitable act to give your old computer equipment a second life, it may be one of those good deeds that doesn’t go unpunished. For the best security, gather up all of your old media—including hard drives, DVDs, CDs, tape drives, zip disks, laptops and cell phones—and let
Go Green Mobile Shredding destroy them. We’ll shred them right on site and bring them to a certified recycling facility where they’ll be sustainably put to good use without unduly harming the ecosystem or putting your company or clients at risk.
Keep Tabs on All Your Documents
Sometimes, a move coincides with a shift in your workforce. Disgruntled or opportunistic ex-employees may be tempted to pilfer research data, marketing plans or vendor agreements and take them to their next venture. In fact, most compromised data leaks internally, since the employees are the ones who can most readily identify which documents are valuable. Make a checklist of all sensitive information and hold employees accountable. Ensure that they shred what needs to be disposed or securely box and seal anything you want to take to your next location.
Hire a Mobile Shredding Service to Save Time
Moves are hectic by nature, but the hassle is often compounded by time crunches as well. While your office may have a shredder or two on site, with so many employees packing up and cleaning out their desks, it’s unlikely that you’ll have enough shredding power to get everything destroyed on time. At Go Green, on the other hand, our mobile shredding trucks can process 3 tons of material in less than an hour. Our trucks can turn an 8 hour job into a 1 hour job, making your move less of a headache.
Moving day can be a logistical nightmare—but don’t put data security on the backburner. For file purges, cleanouts and big jobs, call Go Green Mobile Shredding to make your life easier.
Paper Recycling Impact
You may have heard statistics claiming that logging companies plant more trees than they harvest each year. But factoids like this are misleading, especially in light of the impacts that “planted forests” used primarily for paper production have on our environment. When timber enterprises plant trees, the goal is not the re-establishment of natural habitats. Instead, old growth forests are replaced with a single species of fast growing, high yield trees. Such monoculture forests cannot sustain biodiversity. Also, since they are intended for harvest, these trees do not provide the benefits of terrestrial carbon sequestration (i.e. when trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by absorbing it). For these reasons and others, the World Rainforest Movement (WRM) has come to characterize tree monocultures not as forests, but “green deserts.” According to WRM, tree plantations also compete for land and water resources with local villagers, making it difficult for indigenous peoples to secure drinking water and raise crops for food.
Closer to home, an initiative spearheaded by the Stop GE Trees Campaign, Global Justice Ecology Project and the Dogwood Alliance has raised awareness about the possible impacts of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees being planted in several states across the U.S. Eucalyptus trees are wildly invasive and can spread into native ecosystems and displace wildlife. The oil in eucalyptus trees is also highly flammable. Their pervasiveness contributes to rampant forest fire problems throughout California. As such, the members of the Stop GE Trees Campaign have filed a suit seeking to bar ArborGen from moving forward with its plans for several plantations composed of genetically modified eucalyptus trees.
While the costs vs. benefits of tree plantations are highly controversial, one thing is clear: an acre of cultivated trees is not equivalent to an acre of old growth forest or rainforest. Because the implications of replacing diverse, natural habitats with tree monocultures are not yet fully understood, it’s prudent for our society to lessen our reliance on forests planted for harvesting.
To this end, paper recycling can play a large role. According to the National Recycling Coalition, one tree is saved for each three-foot high stack of newspapers that is recycled. At Go Green Mobile Shredding, our mobile shredding trucks can shred up to 3 tons (6,000 pounds) of paper in a single hour. We haul all of our paper to a certified recycling facility where it’s saved from the landfill and put to sustainable use. Imagine how many trees your office could save in a year!
For more information on paper recycling and mobile shredding, call Go Green Mobile Shredding at (877) 821-0217.
