SELECTSHRED | SHREDDING IN STUART SHREDDING IN PALM CITY – 10 NEW YEAR’S SHREDDING RESOLUTIONS

This is usually a time for reflection on needed changes and to make resolutions to follow through on those changes as we review the past and look forward to the New Year. The following are some shredding resolutions to consider:

I RESOLVE TO:

1. Stop procrastinating and shred all of the confidential documents I no longer need to keep.

2. Exercise more care in knowing when, where, and how my confidential documents are destroyed.

3. Lose the weight from all the pounds of paper that I know should be shredded immediately.

4. Commit to safeguarding the confidential information in my custody by using a shredding service.

5. Learn more about the federal regulations, such as FACTA, GLBA, and HIPAA, which govern my industry.

6. Stop worrying about tomorrow and shred today to make sure I fight identity theft and protect myself.

7. Get organized and reduce clutter by clearing the file cabinets and getting the boxes out of storage and shred.

8. Create peace of mind from knowing that my sensitive information has been shredded and will not get into the wrong hands.

9. Preserve the environment by keeping all paper, confidential or otherwise, out of the trash and landfill by shredding all paper first, knowing that it will be recycled.

10. Use a NAID AAA certified mobile shredding company to destroy my confidential documents in my presence.

Happy new year to all our friends and neighbors in Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Okeechobee, and Vero Beach.

Richard Kinkead & Gloria Kinkead 

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | DO YOU REALLY NEED A CERTIFICATE OF DESTRUCTION?

“I don’t need your certificate of destruction because I can do my own shredding.” This statement is usually delivered smugly on the phone or in person. However, when you or your business has been legally charged with safeguarding the confidential information in your custody, the statement “get it in writing” is quite meaningful and not having it in writing is quite costly. When a NAID AAA certified company shreds for you, you are getting it in writing at your location when the shredding job has been completed. The certificate of destruction is your legal record from a third party vendor. It is documentation that you have done everything you could do to safeguard your sensitive information.

No law enforcement agency is going to fine you or jail you because of an alleged data breach. Investigations must happen and when you can point your finger to the agreement or contract with a shredding company and produce your certificates of destruction, you have certainly displayed the level of responsibility that your customers or clients deserve. You have made yourself and your organization shine because you took the initiative to have a document security program in place. If you are the owner or CEO, your employees appreciate that you did not place them in a situation where they have to defend themselves because there is a security breach that they probably should have prevented, and for which you might try to hold them accountable, but they did not have the authority to put the service in place to protect customers/clients, themselves, officers, and the company.

Don’t write off that piece of paper as just another piece of paper that you don’t need. When you outsource your shredding, it is more secure and less expensive that shredding it yourself. Whatever federal regulation governs your industry, FACTA (credit report information), HIPAA (healthcare) and GLBA (financial), shredding will meet the necessary compliance and the certificate of destruction is your legal document to show that your records were transferred to the custody of your shredding service and have been properly destroyed.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | SHREDDING IN STUART SHREDDING IN PALM CITY

SELECTSHRED — FIVE COMMON UNFOUNDED OBJECTIONS TO USING A SHREDDING SERVICE

Throughout the Treasure Coast and the Palm Beaches, there are five common but unfounded objections that are repeated quite frequently.

1. We Are Paperless. Are you really paperless? Just look around your own office. There is paper on your desks. Boxes of paper are in the office or in storage. The promise of a paperless world has been around for decades but it is not here yet. Lawyers, accountants, doctors, engineers, realtors, appraisers, etc. — you are still producing more paper than ever. If the paper has confidential information, there are federal regulations (FACTA/HIPAA/GLBA) that require you to safeguard, destroy, and discard responsibly all the confidential information in your custody. Even paper that you don’t consider as confidential should be shredded first and then recycled. Help the environment by keeping paper out of the landfills. All shredded paper is recycled into new paper products. If you are regularly scanning your confidential documents, those documents should be secured and shredded as soon as possible by a NAID AAA certified shredding company. http://www.attorneyatwork.com/step-right-up-to-the-paperless-law-office/

2. We Use Office Shredders. What can we say about this objection? At least you are shredding. However, the office shredder can never afford you the required legal documentation to show that you have a proper document security program in place and legal protection in case of an alleged or actual information security breach. What works is the regular use of a shredding service and receiving a certificate of destruction. Also, shredded materials from your office shredder so neatly put in plastic bags and placed in the trash have all the information you need to protect in a neat bundle waiting for the dumpster divers. A dumpster diver is not just someone looking for credit card data, etc., but it could be your competitor in search of your proprietary information or a reporter looking for the next big story.

3. We Don’t Shred Much. Here is where you are missing the big picture. A shredding service can be customized to fit your needs whether you accumulate large quantities of confidential documents in one month or in a few months. The importance of using a shredding service is that you have a system in place to safeguard your confidential documents and a system that can identify red flags, deter identity theft, protect your company from unnecessary legal action, and avoid fines. Also, don’t think that you need to fill a shred truck to effectively use a shredding service.

4. We Are A Small Office. No office is too small to have a shredding service because no office is too small to have an information security breach. No office is too small to be fined for not complying with federal regulations. No office is too small to suffer from the consequences of lost reputation. Even if it is only an alleged data breach, you could face severe fines because you have no record (certificate of destruction from a reputable shredding company) to show that you did all you could do to protect the confidential information in your custody.

5. We Can’t Afford A Shredding Service. Don’t dismiss the idea of a shredding service due to costs because you have to watch the budget. What you really can’t afford is federal fines, liability, lost productivity, and lost reputation. Besides, a shredding service is less costly than employees’ time spent shredding.

From Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, change your attitude and protect your assets — your confidential information from retention to disposal is not trash — it’s as important as any other asset in your office.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVICING PALM BEACH AND THE TREASURE COAST

SELECTSHRED-FOR SECURE DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION, SHREDDING AND RECYCLING ARE NOT THE SAME

Everyone wants to be green and it’s a good thing. However, when it comes to making sure that you are compliant with the federal laws and regulations that govern your industry and when you are charged with fulfilling the obligations of safeguarding the confidential information in your custody, you should destroy first and then recycle. For all the businesses and individuals on the Treasure Coast and in the Palm Beaches, the word of warning is shred first―then recycle. Recycling without first destroying confidential media is not a secure method of disposing of confidential information and renders a business vulnerable to the liabilities and penalties of information security breaches.

Businesses are required and obligated by laws and regulations(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-HIPAA, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act-FACTA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act-GLBA) to destroy and dispose securely of confidential information to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft. Shredding is the most common acceptable method of destruction and is considered as taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of information when it is disposed. Material sent for recycling is often manually sorted in usable and intact form, rendering that confidential information vulnerable to misuse. Recycling also provides no documentation that confidential information has been securely destroyed.

The practice of using recycling as a method of discarding confidential information will not provide appropriate legal protection in case of an information security breach. Recycling will not provide a certificate of destruction but an on-site third party shredding service will provide a certificate of destruction and prove that a business took all reasonable measures to avoid an information security breach and will also provide appropriate legal protection. Don’t let sensitive information get into the wrong hands. Recycling can present the same vulnerabilities as putting confidential information in the trash.

To everyone in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, remember you are still green when you shred first with a reputable, responsible mobile shredding service because all shredded materials are recycled into new paper products.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com