On-Site Shredding Services in Georgia – Seeing What the Criminal Sees (Part One of a Two Part Series)

Over the past few months, we’ve talked a great deal about the many benefits of hiring a reputable on-site shredding service in Georgia, such as River Mill Data Management.  One of the things we haven’t discussed much, however, is exactly how criminals can steal and use information found in your trash, and until you’ve tried to look through the eyes of your adversary, you may miss important holes in your security program.  This is a technique that is employed by the military all the time.  When assessing what defenses you need, you try to evaluate your situation from the eyes of the enemy.  In this case, the enemy is most likely a criminal bent on acquiring enough personal information to steal someone’s identity.  Once you go through this process from your own point of view, you will be far better positioned to employ your on-site shredding service in GA in the most effective way possible.

Let’s begin…

1. Target acquisition…  This is where the criminal locates a likely source of personal information.  Now, at first glance, you might think the criminal would only focus on places that deal in large quantities of personal confidential information, such as financial offices, medical offices, etc… Do not for a moment, however, think that other businesses aren’t at risk.  Any business that handles personal information is a potential target, and a criminal may decide to focus on one of these “less likely” marks precisely because they may be less prepared and have weaker defenses than a financial,medical or legal office would.  If you hire a reputable on-site shredding service in Georgia, they will ensure that no matter what type of business you are in, you will receive the same high quality document destruction services that are specifically tailored to your company’s needs.

2. Surveillance Begins… Once the criminal has a potential target in mind, he/she begins watching and observing their day to day procedures, especially when it comes to mail delivery, pickup and trash pickup.  Does the company always put out the trash at the same time?  Is the mail dropped into an outside mailbox and left unattended or unwatched?  Once the trash is outside of the building, are there any cameras or employees watching the area?  Most importantly, is there identifiable paper waste?  Is it shredded and if so, is it shredded to minimize reconstruction possibilities (i.e. not shredded in strips like what older shredders produce)?  If you work with a good on-site shredding service in GA, they will use the latest shredding machinery, rendering all of your document waste completely unusable.

To be continued…

Read the next installment of “On-Site Shredding Services in Georgia – Seeing What the Criminal Sees (Part II)” on Saturday, July 16th.