Why should I shred company documents?

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Documents should be shredded because it is the law. There are laws and regulations that command the destruction of discarded information. Some of these laws are as follows: The Privacy Act of 1974, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, and the California Assembly Bill 2246 (October 2001). Documents should also be shredded to protect customers from identity theft thus enhancing business relations.
One act that is in place to ensure that companies properly discard private information is the Data Protection Act of 1998. Under this act a company is held legally accountable to destroy sensitive material which if disregarded could result in a business being prosecuted. Also, it just makes sense to keep secret information out of the hands of competitors.
Company documents should also be shredded because identity theft is a growing threat to businesses and companies need to take safety measures to ensure that the proper precautions are taken to maintain client confidentiality. The National Association of Information Destruction suggests observance to the following procedures: shred on a regular schedule, use a shredding contractor for all of your shredding needs, treat all documents the same, have a destruction policy. This should help reduce the appearance of impropriety in your corporation, thus keeping business/client relationships healthy and thriving.



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