6/6/2008
Berthoud, CO

Apex Shredding Inc. is proud to announce that Ann Pederson is one of a limited number of information security professionals nationwide to be authorized as a distributor for a new Information Destruction Policy Compliance Toolkit. The "Toolkit," available free-of charge, is designed to help organizations develop the written information destruction procedures now required by law. According to the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), most organizations in the US report that they currently do not comply with this requirement and, therefore, are at risk. The Toolkit is the first and only publication to specifically address information destruction policy development with a goal of making compliance with the laws easy and understandable.

And, the timing could not be better.

The Federal Trade Commission recently reached a settlement with an Illinois-based mortgage company for discarding personal information without first destroying it, resulting in a fine of $50,000. In the settlement, the FTC cited the absence of the required written policies and procedures as a basis for the penalty. Similarly, the Attorney General of Texas recently announced two settlements with retailers for improper disposal of personal information, also citing the failure to have written policies and procedures. In each of the settlements, the resulting fines amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to NAID’s executive director Robert Johnson, "It is obvious that law enforcement agencies are becoming more aggressive in requiring compliance with the information destruction regulations as they continue to struggle with the growing ID Theft epidemic. Since last summer alone, there have been more fines, charges and penalties for improper disposal of personal information than there have been in the prior 10 years."

"For some organizations, the policy on information destruction amounts to a single sentence, advising employees to destroy sensitive information properly before it is discarded," Johnson adds. "In today’s social and business climate, that simply does not provide sufficient direction to employees who are dealing with many forms of media from any number of sources. Regulators, auditors, courts of law, the media and public sentiment are insisting on a more thorough approach to information disposal because of the potentially devastating consequences of improper disposal on people’s lives."

Prior to authorizing a NAID Member representative to distribute the Toolkit, NAID requires that they become oriented in its use. Only individuals who have completed the orientation are permitted to distribute it.

The Toolkit contains sample policies and procedures for training, authorization and destruction for the full range of conventional media forms, including paper records, computers, magnetic tapes, optical and micro media. In addition, the Toolkit includes sample forms, templates and other resources useful in implementing the policy. And, while the Toolkit offers information destruction procedures for in-house information destruction, it also contains sample policies and procedures for selecting competent service providers.

Alan Andolsen, a highly regarded records management consultant who contributed to the Toolkit, says, "To my knowledge, this is the most thorough examination of proper information destruction available to date. It is something that can be integrated into almost any existing information management or security program or it can stand on its own."