Dumpster Diving and Disco

Dumpster Diving and Disco

“I haven’t heard about dumpster diving since I was dancing to disco!”

That’s what an office manager for a large legal practice said to me recently.  She said it after I explained how using an office shredder still puts her practice at risk. The risk is certainly there for those using small, personal shredders at home, also.

There are a couple of reasons why this is the case.  First, there’s commercially available software that reconstructs shredded documents.  It’s real, it really works, and it’s being used today.  In most cases, it’s being used by law enforcement agencies, security companies, investigators, and some government agencies.  However, it’s also being used by people who want get their hands on sensitive information and use that information for purposes that would cause havoc at your company or organization.

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Second, disco may be dead, but dumpster diving is also real and it’s alive and well in 2015.  We tend to forget about physical (non-electronic records, such as paper documents) data breaches because we hear so much about electronic breaches like the ones affecting Target and Home Depot customers.  But physical breaches are extremely common, especially for small to medium-sized companies that often believe data protection measures are only for the big guys.

When you combine dumpster diving with software that can piece together shredded documents, what you get is enormous potential for identity theft, fines (up to $1.5M in some cases), and negative publicity.

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A certified onsite shredding services company can protect your employees, your customers, your company’s bottom line, and your reputation.  And guess what…in most cases, it’s less expensive than using that office shredder that you’re holding on to so tightly. For those of you ‘shredding along at home’, these risks are just as applicable to you… Shred360 takes care of hundreds of individual residential consumers each and every year.

For more information about certified onsite shredding or tips on how to protect yourself from identity theft, visit www.shred360.com, or reach out to us at [email protected]. We promise a prompt reply!

Thanks to Cam Caudle of Shred360.com/Tampa for this great article!