Orange County 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.
For guidance on compliant secure document disposal practices, most businesses and organizations look to federal regulations, such as HIPAA and FACTA. But the State of California has long had a record for enacting its own consumer and environmental protection laws that go above and beyond what most states require. The same is true for the laws governing how businesses handle personal information and sensitive documents.
If you’d like to read the entire California civil code yourself, you can do so online. But we thought we’d save you some time by pulling out a few salient lines that pertain to privacy, document security and your business. Take note of these important reminders from the law.
If Personal Information is Compromised, You’re Responsible
California Civil Code Section 1798.81 says that a business must take “all reasonable steps” to dispose or arrange for the disposal of all documents containing personal information by means of “(a) shredding, (b) erasing, or (c) otherwise modifying the personal information in those records to make it unreadable or undecipherable through any means.” (Emphasis added.)
That last bit is particularly important. Instead of laying out specifically how obscured the data has to be (i.e. cross cut, ribbon cut, formatted), California law says that it must be completely unreadable by any means. So, even if you shred a document into tiny fragments and someone comes along and pieces it back together or uses special scanning software to digitally restore it, you’re responsible, in spite of your good intentions. The same is true if a third party digs old hard drives out of the trash and uses data recovery software to extract personal information from it.
The lesson: err on the side of caution. Don’t underestimate the persistence of identity thieves, and don’t stop anywhere short of completely eradicating your data.
Compromised Electronic Data Equals Bad PR and High Costs
California Civil Code Section 1798.82 states that any breach of the security of a system containing personal data must be disclosed to all California residents whose information may have been compromised as soon as the breach is detected. While this law typically applies to servers which have been hacked, it holds true for hard drives which may have fallen into the wrong hands. The law states that you must send an electronic or written notice to each person who may have been affected by the security breach. Given that a hard drive can hold hundreds of thousands of records, that’s a lot of letters and emails! According to the law, if the costs of sending out a notice exceeds $250,000, then you can notify the public via a prominent notice on your website or via a major statewide media outlet.
At any rate, even if no one’s identity is stolen and no other adverse impacts result from the security breach, such as a box full of used hard drives being stolen off the back of a truck on its way to the landfill, you’re facing a potential PR nightmare. Publicly announcing that your servers or data systems were compromised can shake the confidence of existing or potential customers that you will be a good steward of the sensitive data, and that can be bad for business in the long run.
The Law is Not on Your Side
The California state legislature takes privacy concerns seriously, and their number one priority is protecting the personal information of individuals, not cutting businesses a break. That sentiment is summed up in the opening line of California Civil Code Section 1798.81.5, which says: “It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that personal information about California residents is protected.”
The lesson: You won’t get much sympathy from the court if it comes down to a legal action. Your best defense is a well documented record of your due diligence, including dates when documents and digital media was destroyed and a Certificate of Destruction indicating the time, place and manner of destruction.
We can help you cover those bases and more with our mobile shredding services. From hard drives and DVDs to file boxes and office papers, we can shred all of your sensitive documents to the point of unreadability by any means on-site.
Call Go Green Mobile Shredding at (877) 821-0217 for more information.
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.
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.
