Issuing ID cards and access badges can be a bit of a pain. New employees need them created, forgetful employees need them replaced, and departing employees need to be made to give theirs back. There’s a lot of administrative work around creating and maintaining these cards. But it’s all worthwhile, right? Badges and ID cards afford your business a level of security you can’t go without by keeping unauthorized people out of your company’s private space and away from private information.
The reason that you use these cards is the same reason that you can’t safely toss them in the trash when you’re done with them. You need to be able to control who has access to your business and its sensitive information. Improperly disposing of ID cards and access badges – and other data-storing cards like gift cards and prepaid credit cards – makes your business vulnerable to attack.
Disposing of ID and Access Badges
Your business uses badges and access cards for one reason: Security. ID and access badges function like keys that guarantee only approved employees can be in spaces where sensitive information is stored. Unlike a key, which might open a single door in the workplace, badges may be used to access a number of secure spaces.
Think of an average employee who has a company-issued access card. If someone who wanted to get into your facility got hold of that card, what could they use it to access? Would it open the doors after hours? Would it allow the holder to get into rooms where customer records, financial statements or proprietary information is stored? Could the holder use the card to get access to your computers or other devices? Now, what would happen if the unauthorized user found an access badge that had been issued to a top-level employee? Would that particular badge open doors that even other trusted employees aren’t allowed past?
The answers to these questions depend on your security protocols and the specific nature of your work. But the point remains the same. Letting these badges fall into the wrong hands could be devastating. So when you’re done with them, throwing them in the trash is obviously not a safe bet.
Some people mistakenly believe that cutting an ID card or access badge in half is enough to render it unusable. If the card has a magnetic strip, cutting it into pieces won’t destroy the information encoded there. Some badges are made with RFID chips, and cutting these badges into pieces won’t necessarily destroy those chips. Even if the physical card is broken into pieces, hackers may be able to clone them and create new, working cards.
There may also be a practical issue around destroying badges yourself, rather than letting professionals do it. Proximity badges and smart cards that work like key fobs are typically made of durable PVC or other long-lasting plastic. They’re built to be fairly indestructible, and they can’t be destroyed using scissors or other common cutting instruments.
Disposing of Payment Cards
Any business that touches payment cards, like gift cards or prepaid debit cards, should have security procedures in place for handling these cards. This is a bigger issue for certain kinds of companies than it is for others. Take, for example, retail businesses that sell gift cards to customers. These companies might have to dispose of batches of misprinted gift cards, or used cards that customers have left behind. If someone goes through the trash and finds those cards, they could be fraudulently sold to unwitting customers. No business owner wants to explain that scenario to a customer who is trying to use an illegitimate gift card.
It’s risky to dispose of any type of payment card in the trash. Prepaid debit cards and company credit cards have to be shredded to keep your business’s finances secure. Credit card receipts should be treated with the same level of care. If you process customer payments, you probably already take measures to protect and destroy any receipts bearing customer information. But what about your own business receipts? Maybe employees submit their personal receipts for reimbursement, or you hold onto receipts related to the company credit cards. They don’t have a ton of information on them, typically just the last four digits of the card and the cardholder’s name, but thieves who already know some things about the cardholder may be able to use receipts to piece together more information.
Shredding is the only truly secure way to dispose of badges and payment cards. Northeast Data Destruction is often hired by government agencies and local law enforcement to destroy badges, and by retailers and manufacturers for credit and gift card destruction.
If your business uses badges or payment cards, you have to have a reliable shredding company you can trust. Northeast Data Destruction protects the security of your materials at every step of the process, from delivering locked collection containers to providing a Certificate of Destruction when the job is done. You can even arrange for a company representative to witness the destruction if you wish.
How can Northeast Data Destruction help you protect your business? Contact us today to get started.