Protect Your Company – How to Properly Destroy Private Information

By now most businesses are aware of the potential damage that can be caused by data breeches. From ID theft to privacy rights, there is no denying the increasing need to be vigilant when protecting private information.

Canada has two federal privacy laws in place. The first is the Privacy Act (1983), which is essentially a code of ethics for government employees and ensures the individual has access to any information collected about them by the government. The second is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, 2004), which addresses the collection and storage of personal information by the private sector. PIPEDA allows individuals to see and correct any information collected by businesses, about them, during the course of commercial activities.

Canadian law currently does not legislate data destruction quality and the industry is, unfortunately, federally unregulated. In 2007, the RCMP warned that the data storage and destruction industry was essentially ‘at your own risk’ and suggested businesses follow some minimum criteria when choosing a service provider. The suggested criteria included using document and data destruction services that were certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).

NAID is the only consumer watchdog protection association that audits the quality of data destruction. The NAID program was developed by security professionals and is recognized by governments around the world including Canada, the United States, England, Germany, Spain, Australia, South Africa, and Hong Kong. To meet NAID requirements, a company has to go through an extensive three level background check and meet a number of security specifications. The companies are then required to go through a rigorous auditing system and are assessed fines and sanctions for non-compliance.

Because there is not a lot of regulation on proper data and document destruction procedures, the onus is on the individual to ensure the information they possess is destroyed and disposed of properly. This is why the consumer should always look for a service provider that is verified by NAID and AAA Certified. BEST Shredding is NAID AAA certified and has been since 2010.

When you choose BEST, you can be sure all of your confidential documents and media, and the information therein, has been properly handled and destroyed.

To learn more about how to properly handle and destroy you confidential documents and media please call or email today, 1-800-GET-BEST (438-2378).