Every responsible business owner knows by now that data security is an urgent and ongoing concern. No matter your industry or the size of your business, you’re vulnerable to data theft or an accidental data exposure at any time. Creating a strict data security policy helps you and your team protect sensitive data in-house, but you also have to have vendors you trust. Before hiring an industrial shredder service to manage your business’s data destruction, these are some of the questions you want to ask.
What type of industrial shredders do you use?
There’s more than one style of paper cutter. While you might use a strip-cut or cross-cut shredder for home use, many industrial shredders (including the ones at Northeast Data Destruction) use a “pierce and tear” method to rip documents and other shreddable materials into tiny pieces. Anything that’s gone through this type of industrial shredder becomes essentially impossible to reassemble. This is obviously ideal for maximum data security, so make sure any shredding service you hire is using the most destructive method possible to dispose of your business’s sensitive materials.
What kinds of materials can you shred?
Unlike commercial paper shredders that are designed for small business use, industrial shredders can destroy a lot more than paper documents. Document shredding services may have the capacity to shred hard drives and other data-storing devices, as well as off-spec products or proprietary samples that you wouldn’t want your competitors accessing.
How does pickup/drop-off of shreddable materials work?
While document shredding services sometimes organize mobile shredding events, for the most part your business’s sensitive data will have to be physically transferred to another location for shredding. There are three primary concerns here: cost, convenience and security. You’ll want to find out if you can save money by dropping off materials to the shredding facility (if that’s something you’re willing or able to do).
Hiring a shredding service that provides pickup services is much easier, but you’ll want to ask about the chain of custody and transportation security measures. Who will be collecting your business’s materials? Are trucks locked and GPS monitored while they’re transporting your materials to the industrial shredder facility?
Ask about pickup scheduling, too. Depending on your business’s needs, you might want a service that’s willing to do regularly-scheduled visits as well as one-off pickups if you have an urgent need to destroy sensitive materials.
Do you maintain any industry certifications?
Document shredding services aren’t required to be certified with NAID (National Association of Information Destruction) or other industry-specific certifying organizations. Because becoming NAID certified is voluntary and includes on-site audits, a shredding service could hide a number of weaknesses by choosing not to be certified. Make sure you only partner with a shredding company that can demonstrate current NAID certification.
Do you provide storage bins?
A full-service industrial shredder service should be able to provide customers with the equipment they need to make business recycling easy and secure. Your business’s sensitive materials shouldn’t be left in open bins or boxes while you’re waiting for your next shredding pickup. If you don’t already have enough locked containers on hand for collecting your shreddable materials, your shredding service can probably help.
How can we know that your employees are trustworthy?
It’s one thing to trust a long-running business based on its track record and reputation, but you don’t know the employees who will be walking out of your business carrying your sensitive files and other shreddable materials. It’s fair to ask about the service’s workforce before signing a contract. What kind of security screening does the shredding service do? Also, NAID certification can be a good indicator of the quality of a shredding service’s employees. Employee background checks are verified during the certification process.
What security measures does your facility have?
Knowing that your business’s materials might not be shredded the moment they’re brought into the facility, it’s reasonable to ask about how an industrial shredder service safeguards its customers’ data. Is the facility alarmed and monitored 24/7? How easy or difficult would it be for an unauthorized person to gain access? Has the shredding service had any security breaches in the past?
What do you do with shredded materials?
After industrial shredders have ripped your business’s paper files into unrecoverable pieces, what happens to the shreds? And what about the plastic and metal shreds from your business’s destroyed hard drives, ID badges and off-spec products? Find out whether a shredding service recycles its paper shreds as well as other recyclable components it handles. Northeast Data Destruction has been the shredding service customers trust for years. We maintain the highest security standards while transporting sensitive materials and at our NAID “AAA” certified shredding facility. We’re even able to efficiently recycle shredded materials, thanks to our sister company Miller Recycling. If you have questions about partnering with an industrial shredder, or anything to do with protecting your business’s sensitive data, contact me today!