What Certifications Should You Look for in Data Destruction?

When you are having data destroyed, you really need to think about finding a vendor you can trust. This is your data we are talking about after all and a potential data breach can be absolutely destructive to your business. Or, to put it another way, if your data isn’t destroyed properly it may end up destroying you. One of the things we always recommend looking for is the proper certifications. What certifications should you look for in data destruction? We can guide you through that.

What an i-SIGMA Member?

If you haven’t heard of i-SIGMA by now, you should know that it’s very important to any business that handles the destruction of data. This certification is granted, controlled, and monitored by i-SIGMA which stands for International Secure Information Governance & Management Association. It’s a mouthful to be sure, but an important one.

To give you an idea of the program’s scope, let’s take a look at the i-SIGMA certification NAID AAA. There are currently over 950 NAID AAA-certified locations around the world. The IRS has publicly acknowledged the value of a NAID AAA certification, it is required for the destruction of all external Australian government data, and the state of New Jersey also requires this certification for the corporate destruction of hard drives. Many of these things likely do not apply to you, but they are important in illustrating the accepted value of this certification program.

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In What Ways Does Working With an i-SIGMA Member Protect You

We understand your point of view. Destroyed data is destroyed data. Why does a certification matter? There are a few problems with this logic, and working with an i-SIGMA member protects against hose problems:

• • Incorrect or Incomplete Destruction—This is a fairly common occurrence among non member data destruction facilities. They don’t understand the processes they use or the data they are destroying and leave data behind that can be recovered.
  • Untrustworthy Team—Even if the data destruction facility is destroying data appropriately, what about the team that’s handling the data? They could walk off with a drive if background checks, check-in/out processes, and proper security measures aren’t taken. All of which  working with an i-SIGMA member ensures.
  • Greed—This one is plain and simple. A destruction facility that is driven by greed and not subject to audits may choose to do a simple format—which is never enough—and resell the drive leaving much if not all of the data available for recovery by even someone who is only moderately computer savvy.

Read More: Should You Reuse Hard Drives?

Why Isn’t  Everyone an i-SIGMA Member?

You are always going to find data destruction services that are note i-SIGMA members, and that’s because paying for the processes, equipment, audits, and dues is expensive. A good data destruction service won’t shy away from that price tag though because they want to do the job right for their clients and the certification is the best way to prove that.

Is Sadoff an i-SIGMA Member?

Of course we are! We are a proud member of i-SIGMA and we diligently maintain our membership in both Wisconsin and Nebraska. If you need data destroyed and you want to work with a data destruction service that not only follows i-SIGMA standards but also contractually owns liability 100%, then you have come to the right place. We provide our service throughout the midwest and nationwide. Reach out for a quote today!

Categorized in: Data Security