Why Shred?

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA), enacted by the federal government in 1996, is intended to safeguard the privacy of patient health records. The law provides for stiff penalties for companies found to be in violation of HIPAA regulations.

A full text of HIPAA regulations is available from the U.S. Department of Human Services. (See Links page.)

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB)

The Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLB), also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, is a federal law that forces a financial institution to “respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers’ non-public personal information.” The law provides for stiff penalties for companies found to be in violation of its regulations.

For more information about the Gramm Leach Billey Act, see Links section.

FACTA

FACTA Law Makes Shredding More Important Than Ever
By now, almost everyone in America is familiar with the term "identity theft." Most businesses and a growing number of individuals are taking steps to protect themselves from becoming the next victim of America's fastest growing crime. Shredding documents for disposal has always been a vital step in preventing ID theft, but in June of 2005, the Disposal Rule section of the FACTA security law was enacted which makes shredding a necessity for businesses of any size, as well as individuals who employ even one person.

FACTA Disposal Rule Defined
Developed by the Federal Trade Commission, FACTA stands for Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Designed to minimize the risk of identity theft and consumer fraud, the Disposal Rule section of FACTA became law on June 1, 2005. The Disposal Rule states that any person who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer or employee information for a business purpose is required to properly dispose of the information. This includes information used, or expected to be used, to establish eligibility for credit, insurance, or employment. In addition, all information contained in or derived from consumer reports and records must be properly disposed to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information. This part of FACTA was developed to cut down on the incidences of identity theft by, among other methods, restricting the ability of thieves to "dumpster dive" for valuable consumer information contained in discarded business records. The Disposal Rule goes on to say that all employers must take "reasonable measures" to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with its disposal. These measures include:

  • burning, pulverizing, or shredding of physical documents
     
  • erasure or destruction of all electronic media
The main difference between the FACTA Disposal Rule and previously existing security laws such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley is that it does not affect a single industry - it affects every business and many households in America.

Are You Affected by FACTA?
If you employ someone, then the FACTA Disposal Rule affects you. Every employer in the US is required to properly and effectively destroy all documents and material that contain sensitive employee or consumer information. Specifically, this applies, but is not limited to:
  • businesses that use consumer information in their everyday operations, such as banks, lenders, insurers, auto dealers, realtors, and medical facilities
     
  • service providers that store consumer reports and information, such as record and information management companies
     
  • service providers that destroy information, such as recyclers, waste management or technology disposal companies
Importantly, the FACTA Disposal Rule is not limited to only companies or small businesses. It affects you as the homeowner as well. If you hire a nanny, tutor, yardman—anybody whose employment requires the exchange of sensitive information—you are responsible for the handling and disposal of that information. If you don't shred and information leaks out, you could be subject to civil or class-action lawsuits, as well as state and federal fines.

Shredding is Your First Line of Defense
Often, the first thing people think about when it comes to data security is their computers. Viruses, hacking - they're all over the news and on people's minds. It's true that hackers pose a threat, but so does your trash can. Firewalls and security programs will not protect you from "dumpster diving," which remains the most common means of collecting information used in identity theft. A quality shredder is always your first line of defense.

Our extensive line of shredders offers the perfect solution for protecting employers as well as employees. Convenient and easy to use, our shredders have set the world standards for quality engineering. Unlike shredders from office superstores, the cutting heads on our shredders are made of the highest quality tempered steel to ensure years of reliable service and many are backed by a ten-year warranty. Our shredders may cost a little more than superstore shredders, but they won't have to be replaced every few years.

Our shredders also provide the peace of mind that comes from knowing your materials are shredded at the source. Off-site services will come to your location and shred your sensitive materials, but that means endless expense and one more point of human contact (set of eyes) added to the disposal process. With our shredders at your business location or home office, you eliminate the potential for a wide range of security problems.

Back to Basics
Laws like the FACTA Disposal Rule are enacted to try and curb the identity theft epidemic. In 2004, 10 million people were victims of identity theft. Not only is the number of victims increasing, the number of identity thieves is increasing as well, and the threat they pose will only continue to grow. Getting back to the basics of simply destroying sensitive documents at the source with a reliable shredder makes perfect sense - now more than ever. Explore our website, or contact us to learn more about the many shredding options available to you

The text:

Section 682.3 of the law states: “Any person who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer information, or any compilation of consumer information, for business purposes must properly dispose of such information by taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with its disposal.”

Shredding of such documents “so that the information cannot be practicably be read or reconstructed” meets the law’s standard.

For more information about the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, see Links section.
 

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Identity Theft

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. Businesses are entrusted with all types of confidential information, and each business needs to do their part to prevent identity theft by safeguarding this information.

Destroy your confidential documents in order to protect your employees, your clients or patients and yourself. Documents containing names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, etc. should be shredded when they are no longer needed.
 

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Corporate Security

Your information—in the form of business plans, product designs, account lists, business proposals, blueprints, and drawings—is the foundation of your company. Discarded information that makes its way into wastebaskets, garbage cans, and dumpsters is the single most available source of competitive and private data about your company. It’s this information that has all the makings of corporate espionage.

  • Customer Account lists
  • Business Plans
  • Plans for New Products
  • Financial Statement
  • Payroll Data
  • Cancelled checks

When it comes to stealing corporate secrets by retrieving documents from trash cans and dumpsters:

  • The law is firmly on the side of the “bad guys.”
  • Courts have consistently ruled that by discarding data into the trash, you have indicated that it is of no value to you.
  • The taking of this “useless information,” no matter what the intent, is protected by the law.
  • Shredding discarded material will render it unreadable—hence, useless—to those attempting to capitalize on your information.
     

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Internal Security

Document shredding is necessary to maintain internal security. However, only employees with security clearance should  be responsible for destruction of certain sensitive documents, such as payroll data, personnel records, and materials that involve labor relations or legal affairs. Potential dangers also arise when rank-and-file workers are asked to destroy competition-sensitive data.

 

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Links that pertain to the document destruction issue

GLB
http://www.ftc.gov
http://banking.senate.gov/conf/confrpt.htm

FACTA
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6a-facta.htm

HIPAA
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.rtf

Identity Theft
Federal Trade Commission
Department of Justice
Clearinghouse of Identity Theft
 

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