Many businesses in Australia rely on a corporate document destruction service to help them meet their data security requirements. Even very small enterprises of perhaps three or four people leave a significant paper trail over time which, if it fell into the wrong hands, could mean that all sorts of personal information and financial data got into the public domain. The rules around secure document destruction now place the onus on business owners to ensure this sort of work is carried out professionally. If you have the in-house skill to meet those requirements, then you can proceed as you are. For many enterprises, however, a corporate document destruction service provider will be beneficial. What are the key factors to look out for?
Industry Standard Shredding
When it comes to paper documentation, shredding is the key to ensuring it can no longer be read. However, most domestic shredders are inadequate in professional settings. Instead, you should be looking for a corporate document destruction service that truly breaks up all of your paperwork into very fine particles so that even fragments of it cannot be pieced together once more. This will usually involve industrial shredding processes so your paperwork will need to be collected from your premises securely to a safe place where this can occur.
Secure Bin Provision
Because corporate document destruction often means transporting your papers away from your office to process them, you need lockable bins in which employees can place all of their sensitive paperwork. This means that neither they nor the collector can access the data that is held on them. Only when they reach the shredding plant should these bins be opened and their contents destroyed under supervision. If the documentation can be read in the office or on the way to being disposed of, then the whole service provision is insecure.
Digital Documentation
It is not just paperwork that needs to be taken care of with a professional corporate document destruction service, but digital data, too. Look for a service provider who can also take care of the secure destruction of portable digital media, such as memory sticks and CD-ROMs. You may also need to have hard drives within computers fully destroyed to keep your company's data secure when your devices reach the end of their working lives, of course. In terms of digital data, anything from company-issued credit cards to identity badges may all need to be securely disposed of on your behalf, too. These processes are well worth considering before appointing a corporate document destruction company.
