Eleven Years and Counting: Northeast Data Destruction Renews NAID Certification
Complying with federal regulations and local laws isn’t optional, at least not if you want your business to stay operational. But complying with industry certification programs may be optional, which is why companies that have poor practices or lax security generally don’t bother.
That’s why we’re proud that Northeast Data Destruction – the sister company of Miller Recycling – recently received NAID AAA certification for the 11th year in a row. (NAID stands for National Association for Information Destruction, the trade association for the data destruction industry.) Northeast Data Destruction has been continuously certified since January 7, 2008. Each certification is valid for one calendar year, so we will renew our certification when it expires in January, 2020.
We are not required to have this certification in order to operate. We choose to renew it year after year because we’re confident in the fact that we operate at the highest level, and we welcome the chance to be transparent with our customers.
We also recognize that this certification process probably isn’t fascinating to those outside the recycling and data destruction industries, but we think it’s important for our customers to feel totally secure trusting us with their sensitive data. As part of that commitment, we’d like you to know what NAID AAA certification signifies.
NAID auditors evaluate applicant companies in many areas. These auditors are experts on a variety of national and international laws related to information security (like HIPAA and the FACTA Disposal Rule), so they’re able to verify whether an applicant is in compliance with regulations. Auditors also evaluate the efficacy of a company’s operational security policies, taking steps like inspecting the locks on transport trucks and reviewing visitor logs and employee ID badge procedures.
One of the elements of the certification process that we value most relates to employees. Auditors review employee records to verify that they’ve passed extensive background testing, including ongoing criminal record searches on current employees. We know that trusting your company’s secure data to our employees requires a leap of trust, so having a third party evaluate and verify the trustworthiness of our team is important to us.
Here’s the most important thing for you to know about this auditing process: the visits are unannounced. At Northeast Data Destruction, we maintain the highest level of security at all times – and we have to, because an NAID auditor could show up at any time. Considering that we’ve been certified for 11 years now, it’s clear that we’re always ready to pass an inspection.
Seeking out NAID AAA certification is one of the ways that Northeast Data Destruction makes clear our commitment to security, safety and reliability. We’re happy to answer your questions about our data destruction services and our NAID status. Contact us today to learn more.