Study Proves Companies Need to Get More Serious About Document Destruction

Last year, Cintas hosted a webinar with Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, to survey the results of a study Security of Paper Records and Document Shredding. This study was performed to determine the current practices companies are using to secure sensitive documents during the shredding and destruction process.

“Despite the steady increase in data breaches, our study revealed that many businesses still don’t have the right programs in place to safeguard sensitive information,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute. “Neglecting to secure your paper and digital records can compromise your organization by putting valuable customer data and business intelligence at risk.”

There were four key findings throughout the webinar to take note of:

• 1/3 of respondents say their organizations do not have a policy for the secure destruction of confidential documents.
• Among those respondents who say their organization has a policy, over half (51%) say it does not cover the secure destruction of hard drives.
• While 55% of organizations represented in this study train their employees on the secure disposal of confidential documents, only 38% say they are confident that the training helps ensure the secure disposal of confidential documents.
• Nearly 3/4 of respondents believe that using an outside shredding service is more effective than relying on employees to properly shred and/or destroy confidential information.

Only 2/3 of the organizations in this study actually have a policy for the secure destruction of confidential documents? More than half of those respondents who said they do have a policy, say they do not cover the secure destruction of hard drives? It’s time to get more serious about protecting your company’s sensitive documents.

Depending on your individual needs, AccuShred offers daily, weekly, monthly, or on-call destruction services. We provide, free of charge, specially designed secure locking bins or console units placed strategically throughout your office or facility.