Protecting Your Business With Data Shredding

If your business collects any type of personal or confidential business information from customers, your customers will want to feel assured that this information goes no further. The best way to insure that information does not end up in the wrong hands is to destroy it once it is no longer necessary to your business. This is commonly called data shredding and entails the shredding of paper documents. There are several types of machines a business can purchase which will effectively destroy old documents, but many customers feel more secure if the company with which they have shared information uses a separate company which guarantees that the documents have actually been destroyed, and will have a record of when this took place. This not only installs more confidence in the customer, it can protect your business against legal liability. This third party should have the proper insurance and be licensed and bonded. Aside from the paper documents which a customer will want destroyed, there are computer files which are equally sensitive. Deleting files will not eliminate classified materials. There will be enduring data, known as reminisce, which can be recovered by anyone with a reasonable knowledge of computers. There are a few effective ways to be certain this information cannot be recovered by the wrong people. Overwriting, or replacing old data with new, is a common, inexpensive method. Degaussing is a method of discharging the magnetic field of a computer drive. This is effective, but more costly than overwriting. The most effective method is to physically destroy the disk or drive. This, of course, is also costly. It may be worth the cost, however, if it installs customer confidence to a degree they may not have with other businesses offering the same service. Even if you are confident that your customer's information is secure and will be properly destroyed, the customer may not share your confidence. Again, this is where a third party can be the best solution. There are companies whose sole business is to insure that confidential intelligence is removed permanently. If the company has been in business for several years and enjoys a secure reputation, your customer may be comfortable sharing information with you. Many of these companies will accept liability should any security breech occur. They can also provide testimonial evidence of their integrity from other clients. Although scientists say that anecdotal evidence is the weakest kind, customers tend to be persuaded by these testimonials. Customer confidence is certainly vital to the survival of any business. With all the publicity identity theft, industry espionage and computer hacking get these days, a certain level of paranoia should be expected among customers. Data shredding can be one tool your business uses to assure customers you are looking out for them.

For further information on the issues raised in this article, such as data shredding, security and document shredding, please visit Russell Richardson, who are experts in the field.