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As the owner and operator of your business, you know how much is involved in day-to-day operations; while document management may not be on the top of your list of tasks to tackle, it is an extremely important area you don’t want to forget about. In fact, information security, can dictate how successful your business is long-term, as with the right processes in place you can improve organization, efficiency and security, all of which contribute to better business.

Taking certain precautions to reduce your risk of information breach can limit risk and liabilities associated with the risk of a data breach. Your organization size is irrelevant in determining whether or not you need to implement these security measures, as even smaller companies are targeted by thieves and cyber criminals. Alarmingly enough, small companies are often victimized more because many of them lack these information management procedures to begin with.

At the end of the day, any individual motivated enough to steal or compromise your sensitive information, really has no interest in the size or nature of your business. Ensuring you have the proper security measures in place are what will protect you from outside threats. Being proactive also protects the identities of your customers and staff as well, which you have a legal obligation to do as a business owner.

Knowing how to get the ball rolling can often be the most difficult part of the process because there are lots of considerations in each area of your business, each with their own vulnerabilities that must be addressed. Where is the best place to start?

Computer Systems

 

Back-up prevention is key to protect your business from outside threats. Based on your industry and the nature of your business, this might include server networks to network storage drives etc. Small businesses that only consist of a handful of computers could be covered effectively with a simple external hard drive. The bottom line is having a backup solution available to you that runs regularly is invaluable if things take a bad turn.

 

We highly suggest that you investigate programs with antivirus and anti-malware tools. Having these handy programs in place will eliminate stress and help keep your computer system secure.

 

Office Management

 

Amazingly something as simple as having a clean desk that is organized and clutter-free can do wonders in limiting lost and/or stolen documents, and yet so many companies fail to follow this simple policy. It also reduces the possibility of wandering eyes glimpsing confidential matters that shouldn’t be exposed.

 

Performing regular risk assessments can measure where your office stands relative to risk level. These assessments will allow you to discover where you may have security vulnerabilities that you might not otherwise have noticed. You will find these areas requiring improvement as they happen which critical for preventing further security issues.

 

Introducing and explaining the steps of each policy is just as vital as training employees on how to follow and adopt these policies. A clean desk policy can only be successful if your team understands how it works and why it is so necessary for your business.

 

While you may think your office shredder will do just the trick, the reality is they are not built for regular ongoing use and they can be a pain to operate. Simply put, the benefits that come with a professional shredding provider far outweigh any you’ll receive with an office shredder. Professional shredding on the other hand, guarantee that documents are left in a virtually irreversible state. Our scheduled shredding services can offer your business convenience and improved security, as there is no need to travel off-site or move documents on your own;  we come to your location and the  entire destruction process occurs on your premises, allowing you to watch it occur in real time.

If you are located in Boston or Massachusetts and are seeking ways in which you can enhance your internal security measures, reach out to our team of professionals at  A1 DATASHRED. We would be pleased to work with you and assist you in choosing a shredding program that is most appropriate for your needs. Our goal is to keep your information and thus your identity safe, while helping you maintain compliance with privacy legislation. We offer many options in relation to our services; choose what is most convenient for you and we’ll take care of the rest.

Our service area is constantly expanding so we can look after you better.

Call our professionals today at 1-888-95-SHRED

Protecting your sensitive documents through document destruction, is one of the most vital business practices and personal practices you can make to avoid theft and fraud. With that said, you’ll want to know what exactly what you should be shredding and what you should be keeping securely stored away. Be prepared for your next shredding job and don’t leave anything behind. If you’re like many, you are likely forgetting some “not so obvious documents” in that pile you have set aside. Here are a few documents that, according to Readers Digest, that are just as important to be shredding.

Resumes

While these documents may seem harmless, if you stop and think about the personal information provided on a typical resume, they carry some significant private details that make them an extremely important record to shred. A standard resume includes at least one address, phone numbers, names, email addresses and employment and education history. A thief can discover a lot about an individual from studying their resume alone.

 Boarding Passes

Once you arrive at your destination, you should make it a priority to shred your boarding pass. If discovered by the wrong individual, these little documents can provide thieves with your booking ID, giving them detailed information on your specific travels. Frequent flier numbers can also be discovered, all of which allows hackers to get into your travel accounts where they may be able to check into flights and cancel trips.

Birth Announcements

This is another one you may be surprised to be reading but unfortunately children can be a lot more vulnerable to information theft and are victims of identity theft more often than adults in some cases. Birth announcements instantly provide personal physical descriptions such as eye color, birth date, weight and more.

Prescription Labels

Prescription labels include names and the strength and type of drug being prescribed, which automatically provides suggestions about your health status. They also provide information on your Pharmacist; access to these labels provides thieves the information needed to refill prescriptions, putting drugs in the wrong hands.

Receipts

This one can be a bit more difficult as there are tax laws to keep in mind and filing processes to consider. Receipts can supply enough information to thieves as payment data such as card numbers, methods and signatures can all be used to commit crime. In fact, it is common for thieves to use receipts fraudulently to obtain store credit on your behalf.

Pet Medical Records

We know this may seem like an odd one, but the logic is very sound and somewhat alarming. Why? These records reveal pet names, which according to studies is the most popular choice for a password. Of course, there are some important pet records you’ll want to hang on to, but you may want to consider shredding other pet related receipts and documents that aren’t necessary to keep, especially if they include your pet’s name..

Funeral Pamphlets

Using the identity of deceased individuals is hard for most people to wrap their heads around, yet unfortunately it does occur as thieves will use personal information to apply for things fraudulently like loans, tax returns, credit card accounts and more. Be sure you shred any obituaries or funeral pamphlets that are left over. You should avoid including the birth date and maiden in any obituaries if possible.

At the end of the day, any document that no longer serves a purpose but contains highly confidential information that may lead a criminal in the right direction, must be shred. Don’t put your identity at risk because you simply don’t have time to shred. We do the work for you so you can continue focusing on business matters that contribute to your bottom line. Our highly trained team is AAA NAID Certified and ready to help you destroy documents in accordance with all relevant privacy legislation. You can rest assured that you are in reliable and good hands for the process.

Contact A1 DATASHRED in Boston for more information on how our document shredding services can ensure you are securely destroying all documents you should be. We can guide you through the process and work with you to determine an action plan for your document management. Our solutions are flexible, and we don’t hold you to long-term contracts; you decide how often or how little you’d like to have your documents shred.

Call 1-888-95-SHRED to get started.

It’s common knowledge among the document destruction industry that many businesses maintain legal obligations which can be fulfilled through professional shredding services. What may not be so familiar, is exactly what bills contain laws that can be met using a professional shredding service. Furthermore, while many shredding companies know of the legal obligations held by businesses, some companies themselves don’t realize that a professional shredding service can help them meet legal requirements with ease and confidence, protecting them against non-compliance fines.

legal responsibilities of shredding

What sort of responsibilities are we referring to? For the most part, these are obligations that deal with the safe and proper handling of confidential matters, or safe disposal of sensitive information. In the United States there are a few different laws that outline how to handle information management to ensure total security and confidentiality. A professional shredding service will guarantee just that.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the most crucial laws you should be aware of:

HIPAA

 The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 with the goal of protecting sensitive patient data, and to maintain and safeguard the confidentiality of patient medical records. Most medical offices are subject to the guidelines outlined in HIPAA, and there are penalties in place for those that fail to properly protect specific patient information.

FERPA

 Applicable to all educational agencies and institutions in the United States that are provided with any sort of funding from the Department of Education, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted in 1974 with the intent of managing the handling and access of educational information to public entities. Such entities may refer to potential employers, foreign governments and publicly funded educational institutions.

FACTA

 Enacted in 2005, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) applies to essentially all business and individuals in the United States that maintain or possess any consumer information. This information may refer credit card numbers, SSN’s, drivers’ licenses or phone numbers and email addresses. The main purpose behind FACTA largely was to protect against and minimize instances of consumer and identity fraud.

How do these Coincide with Document Shredding?

 Each of these laws discuss secure document shredding in the same manner; failure to properly dispose of medical records, educational records or any consumer information could contribute to significant penalties and fines for those companies affected. Critical to complying with all three of these acts is proper management of confidential information.

A1 DATASHRED offers a range of secure shredding containers and bins that will help your shredding business meet its document destruction needs. We have convenient and handy solutions in all sizes and shapes to assist in keeping your company safe and compliant.

Reach out to our team to learn more about this legislation or if you’d like to schedule shredding.

 

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Happy New Year to you all! It is officially 2019, and while you begin thinking about your New Years Resolutions, why not make staying on top of your organization’s security measures, a goal for the year ahead? Specifically, get to the bottom of your cluttered documents and dispose of them once and for all. Who wants to go back to work with a desk flooded in old documents? It causes stress, distraction and security risks all of which lack any positive outcomes for your business.

record purge

If you haven’t done a record purge recently, now is the perfect time!

Here’s Why:

Don’t Take Risks

It’s an unfortunate reality that identity theft continues to increase at a startling rate across the United States. As things are going it seems that this trend may also continue into the foreseeable future. To protect yourself from falling victim to such a crime and to keep your clients and staff secure, you need to take active measures that contribute to secure document management. In other words, without the right actions in place you may become quickly vulnerable. The good news is that when done properly, a purge shred job is a super easy and straight forward process.

Rather than storing loose files in your desk or worse, scattering them across your desk, consider filing them away somewhere secure or have them shred. If they are no longer relevant to your day-to-day work or if they have reached their retention period, there is no reason to have them take up space and contribute to a security concern. Without doing this, documents may become lost or stolen leading to the exposure of sensitive information.

What Do I Get Rid of Exactly?

If you’ve read this far and you decide its time to get your purge in order, you’ll need to determine what has to go and what has to stay. A good rule of thumb is to purge everything that contains information deemed private. Have old medical records? These along with bank statements, accounting records, and payroll information should be shred. If you have doubts on whether a specific file needs shredding, don’t take a chance, shred it anyways.

How Do I Begin the Shredding Process?

When you’ve finished organizing your records and are ready to finally dispose of them (safely of course!) there is one major mistake that occurs far too often than not; turning to an office shredder people often make: they pull out that old office shredder they have at home and run the papers through that. We implore you not to use one of these machines for several reasons. Their shred pattern is very basic and makes it easy for papers to be reconstructed, they are unable to handle large volumes of paper, so shredding takes forever, and they tend to break down which leaves you with an expensive paper weight.

What’s the Most Reliable Solution?

Turning to a professional document destruction company to handle the process for you. Why?  Professional shredding comes with many benefits that far outweigh looking after this on your own with an office shredder.  Not only is it a much faster process, the industrial grade shredders used will tear through papers, staples, papers clips, and folders with ease, ensuring all information is rendered unrecoverable. The material is shredded so finely that reconstruction is impossible. Finally, all shredded material is taken to be recycled, keeping it out of the landfill and saving the environment.

 

When you’re ready to plan out your purge, reach out to us here at A1 DATASHRED and we’ll take care of all your document shredding requirements this New Year. Start the New Year off with a clutter-free and organized space! After all, your security is on the line.

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Any professional shredding service that stands behind its work and is committed to offering solutions that benefit the customer, will supply their client with a Certificate of Destruction following a shredding job.  What is this exactly? Perhaps you’ve never paid much attention to whether you received this document, or maybe you thought this was a standard receipt? In any case, it is important to understand the significance behind this document to protect yourself from unwanted fines or the risk of bad publicity. Failure to understand the importance of this document could be a costly mistake for your business.

So, what does this document represent? A Certificate of Destruction is typically given to the client by a shredding company following the completion of a shredding service. It serves as a guarantee that all paperwork has been shred to specification, and that the company stands behind the quality and security of its work. Usually included in this Certificate is the date of the job, the name of the driver or machine operator, and the name of any witnesses who watched the shredding take place (particularly the case if the shredding was carried out on-site.)

 

Not receiving a Certificate of Destruction should raise some red flags. For starters, it doesn’t communicate that the service provider necessarily guarantees its professional work. Certificates of Destruction are always issued among professional document shredders practicing the highest level of industry standards, and anyone who doesn’t provide one is out of the norm.

 

Secondly, should information breach occur involving your business and/or client, or if there is accusation of data mismanagement (perhaps under legislation’s such as FACTA and HIPAA,) there is nothing for the client to stand behind that guarantees all security efforts were in place during the destruction process. While it is unlikely that a document destruction company won’t shred your documents properly, mistakes happen and there is always room for unfortunate error to take place. The Certificate gives clients a means to stand behind, shifting accountability to the document shredding company. This may be the biggest reason that as a customer, you should never settle for a company that fails to issue you this document.

 

Legislation’s like FACTA and HIPAA outline how sensitive documents should be managed and disposed of legally so that you are not held liable should information be stolen or misused. Potentially sensitive information must be protected while in storage and through until disposal to remain compliance with such laws.

 

 

 

If you are researching reliable shredding services in the Boston region that will stand behind their work, or your current provider isn’t supplying you with a Certificate of Destruction and you are looking to change companies because of it,  A1 DATASHRED is your trusted source!  You may choose from onsite or offsite document shredding, and it is up to you how often or how little you wish to use our service. We won’t tie you in to long-term contracts. Need regular shredding services? We will be there! Only require a one-time purge job? We will get it done just as efficiently! We’ll work with you to determine your unique needs, deciding on a shredding option that is most suited to YOU.

 

Get in touch for additional information on our convenient shredding services.

 

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The holiday season is here! With all the hustle and bustle of shopping, holiday parties and gift exchanges, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement and we don’t blame you! One thing that is vital to remember during all of this, however, is that there is an increased risk of identity theft and theft in general around this time.

Thieves are fully aware of the fact that throughout the holiday season, shoppers are out in the highest numbers of the year making more purchases than ever, some potentially high ticketed items on top of this! It is essentially a gold mine for thieves if shoppers aren’t careful.  for Due to the significant volume of shopping that takes place, there are more opportunities for thieves to enter your vacant home; stealing gifts, credit cards, wallets, you name it. Whatever juicy material they can get their hands on, this is the time it is likely to happen over any other time of the year.

Thankfully, there are lots of ways you can reduce the risk of an identity theft, or common theft, from ruining your holiday celebrations:

Don’t fall victim to identity theft; take extra steps to remain secure and safe throughout the holiday season. Nobody wants to be a victim of theft, especially over the holiday season when it should be a joyous and happy time!

From the entire A1 DATASHRED team, we wish you a wonderful and happy Holiday Season and best wishes for the New Year ahead!

As industry leaders in secure document management; we are very familiar with the applicable privacy laws that pertain to protecting sensitive matters. In fact, when companies and residents throughout Boston outsource their document shredding needs to our team, they can be rest assured that our processes follow strict guidelines and policies that fulfill these specific laws. What does that mean for you? In short, you can have peace of mind in knowing that our services will help to keep you compliant with state and federal legislation which is extremely important.

If you’re currently shredding old files in-house with an office shredder, is this being monitored properly? Are documents being shred into strips or particles? Are you keeping a record of what has been shred and what hasn’t? There are so many considerations to bear in mind if you perform the shredding itself. The worst part is that while you may think you are doing wonders for the security of your business, you could actually be putting it at risk. How so? For starters, identity thieves can easily put strips of paper back together to recreate a document if the intent is there, but more than that, failing to shred securely and properly could be risky for your reputation.

By law, you are obligated to ensure employees and customers’ personal information is protected from outside exposure; there are specific laws in place as mentioned that indicate the details and responsibilities you have as a business owners.  To avoid the risks associated with shredding in house, consider a professional shredding company like A1 DATASHRED to look after your documents. We promise to look after your privacy, through shredding that transforms your documents into minuscule pieces of paper, preventing any chance of reconfiguration.

What are the obligations you must perform to abide these laws?  Each pertains to the handling of sensitive information, or properly disposing of sensitive information. In the United States there are different laws that specify rules and regulations that should be met, which of course a trusted shredding company like us can look after.

Here are the key laws you should be fully up to speed on and thoroughly understand:

HIPAA

 The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA) was implemented in 1996 with the intention of securing confidential patient information, and to maintain and safeguard the privacy of patient medical records. Those in the medical field are subject to the guidelines outlined in HIPAA, and there are penalties outlined for those companies who fail to properly protect specific patient data.

FERPA

 This act applies to all educational agencies and institutions in the United States that receive funding from the Department of Education.  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) began in 1974 with the goal of managing the handling and access of educational information to public entities. Such entities could refer to potential employers, foreign governments and publicly funded educational institutions.

FACTA

 Implemented 2005, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) applies to essentially all business and individuals in the United States that handle or store consumer information. Such information could refer to personal items like credit card numbers, SSN’s, driver’s license or phone numbers and email addresses. The purpose behind FACTA is to protect against and limit incidences of consumer and identity fraud.

How Does Shredding Pertain to this Legislation?

 These laws all require secure document shredding to remain compliant; failure to properly dispose of medical records, educational records or any consumer information could lead to hefty penalties and fines for those businesses affected. To fully comply with each of these laws you are required to manage sensitive information properly, ensuring total protection while documents are in your hands and through until they are disposed of.

A1 DATASHRED supplies quality lockable containers that will help your business meet its legal obligations pertaining to secure document shredding. Through our certified professionals and our security containers, we have what you need to keep your operations secure and in full compliance with privacy legislation. Don’t risk a data breach or loss of sensitive information. When in doubt, always shred!  Not sure what shredding option is best for you? Choose from on-site or off-site document destruction when you partner with our company. We ensure total security and ensure the shredding process is fast and convenient!

Contact our team for assistance; we’d love to assist your company in your efforts to maintain a secure and organized office.

 

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Paper shredding machines don’t really receive special attention; after all, they aren’t exactly an exciting conversation piece. With that said, you may not be aware of the history of document shredding and the story behind the paper shredding machine. Interestingly enough, there were some pretty significant socio-political events that occurred which all had an influence on the evolution of this handy and important little machine!

The first known patent that was filed for a document shredding device took place in 1909 by Abbot Augustus Low. Even though the patent was filed, the device was never manufactured during Low’s lifetime.

In 1935 the first known paper shredder was designed and made by Adolf Ehinger. Apparently it operated in the same way as a hand-cranked pasta maker, where users would turn a crank while documents were fed through and shred up. Ehinger’s goal behind making the machine was to destroy his anti-Nazi propaganda in an effort to avoid getting questioned by authority figures.

After the Second World War, Ehinger went after governments and financial institutions with the paper shredder and with time replaced the hand crank machine with an electric motor. The events of the Cold War brought document shredders into the spotlight, and with the ongoing threat of espionage present, they suddenly became extremely popular.  Government entities especially, primarily used paper shredders until the mid-80’s where other industries saw the value in these as well.

One event that prompted a key change in document shredding was the Iran hostage crisis of 1979. After having used standard cutting paper shredders to shred confidential records, it was learned by Iranian hostages that these strips could be reassembled to obtain the information which was meant to be destroyed. These discoveries of course, lead to the invention of cross-cutting shredders, which are still in use today.

Today, privacy issues brought in by the era of technology have continued the story of the paper shredder. With laws such as FACTA and HIPAA being implemented to fight identity theft, and the FTC suggesting consumers shred financial documents prior to disposal,  it is safe to say that document shredders are not likely going anywhere anytime soon.

 

If you are seeking a qualified and experienced shredding company for your office space, or just shredding services to purge your Boston office, contact the team of experts at A1 DATASHRED. We can put together a plan and service that is in line with your specific budgetary requirements.  As a proud AAA NAID Certified member you can be sure that documents are being destroyed in accordance with any relevant laws and required procedures.

 

Get in touch with our professionals today to arrange a shredding schedule that works for you!

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