Business owners and managers are aware of cyber-attacks that can threaten the security of their in-use data containing devices – their office computers, servers, and websites – and they have safeguards in place to minimize any threat of illegal access. Nowadays many companies are even insuring themselves against cyber-attacks.
But did you know that your end of life data containing devices could pose an expensive threat to your business as well?
Most of the business owners and managers that we have spoken to are not aware that they are required to be data destruction compliant with various state and federal regulations regarding the proper disposal of data containing devices. Any device that stores personal consumer information, including that of employees, would need to be covered under a data destruction compliance plan. That information could be financial, personal identification, or health related. It is probably safe to say that most businesses have some kind of consumer personal information on their data containing devices.
Businesses that come to mind include:
- insurance companies
- medical offices
- attorneys
- human resource departments
- schools
- financial institutions
So what’s the expensive threat to business owners? The threat is monetary fines resulting from non-compliance due to improper processes associated with out of service data containing devices, including broken, outdated, and unused devices. Enforcement of these regulations will continue to increase as more companies experience data breaches, whether from in-service devices or out-of-service ones. Our mission at Data Nukes is to educate and protect businesses from this threat, so come back often to learn more.
Not sure if your business is data destruction compliant? Are you in need of a data destruction compliance plan? Contact us today for a free evaluation.