Shred-it

Last updated
Shred-it
Industry Information Security
Headquarters
Bannockburn, Illinois, USA [1]
Area served
U.S., Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
ServicesPaper shredding and Hard drive destruction
Number of employees
5,000+
Website https://www.shredit.com
Shred-it truck in Ontario Shred-it.jpg
Shred-it truck in Ontario
Shred-it service truck in 2018 Shredit Truck 2018.jpg
Shred-it service truck in 2018

Shred-it is an information security solution[ buzzword ] provided by Stericycle Inc. Its services include document destruction, hard drive destruction, and specialty item shredding. The company is also known for its Annual Data Protection Report commissioned with Ipsos, a yearly survey of small business owners, C-level executives and consumers focusing on data protection and information security. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

Greg Brophy founded Shred-it in 1988 and incorporated the company in 1989. In 1993, Brophy expanded the business by launching a manufacturing division called Securit Manufacturing Solutions "SMS". Today, SMS manufactures security consoles and specialty shredding trucks for all Shred-it's branches. It also sells industrial shredding equipment to other secure information destruction businesses. [7]

In 2014, Shred-it merged with Cintas Document Shredding, which now operates under the Shred-it name. [8] [9] [10]

In 2015, Stericycle acquired Shred-it and began positioning the company as one of its many waste management and compliance services.

Secure Information Destruction Services

Document Destruction

Shred-it offers document destruction services where paper documents are shredded using industrial paper shredders. This service is offered on a one-time or on a recurring basis. [11]

Shred-it maintains a fleet of trucks that can provide this service on-site or deliver materials to Shred-it's facilities for destruction. The trucks are prominently featured at Community Shred-it events, where Shred-it partners with organizations like Crime Stoppers, to raise awareness about identity theft and fraud, while providing a safe way to dispose of documents with confidential information. Shred-it provides a custom quote for every document destruction job and ensures all paper waste is recycled. [12] [13]

Hard Drive, Digital Media, and Specialty Item Destruction

Shred-it provides secure information destruction for hard drives and digital media. Deliberately damaging these devices is the only way to ensure confidential information can no longer be retrieved. [14] Shred-it has two methods for securely destroying digital information. Shearing slices hard drives into minuscule pieces using 40,000 lbs of combined force while crushing uses 7,500 lbs of force pressure to drill irreparable holes in the hard drive, so information can never be recovered. [15]

The company also offers specialty item shredding, which involves destruction of any item that poses a threat to a business’ reputation or security. Shred-it's specialty item services dispose of items, like uniforms to casino chips, ID badges, prototypes, pill bottles, or material with outdated branding. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMS</span> Text messaging service component

Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text messages. An intermediary service can facilitate a text-to-voice conversion to be sent to landlines.

Location-based service (LBS) is a general term denoting software services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. LBS can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor object search, entertainment, work, personal life, etc. Commonly used examples of location-based services include navigation software, social networking services, location-based advertising, and tracking systems. LBS can also include mobile commerce when taking the form of coupons or advertising directed at customers based on their current location. LBS also includes personalized weather services and even location-based games.

A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is recorded. The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management systems. It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper shredder</span> Device used to cut paper into pieces

A paper shredder is a mechanical device used to cut sheets of paper into either strips or fine particles. Government organizations, businesses, and private individuals use shredders to destroy private, confidential, or otherwise sensitive documents.

In cryptography, plaintext usually means unencrypted information pending input into cryptographic algorithms, usually encryption algorithms. This usually refers to data that is transmitted or stored unencrypted.

Data remanence is the residual representation of digital data that remains even after attempts have been made to remove or erase the data. This residue may result from data being left intact by a nominal file deletion operation, by reformatting of storage media that does not remove data previously written to the media, or through physical properties of the storage media that allow previously written data to be recovered. Data remanence may make inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information possible should the storage media be released into an uncontrolled environment.

Records management, also known as records and information management, is an organizational function devoted to the management of information in an organization throughout its life cycle, from the time of creation or receipt to its eventual disposition. This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records. The ISO 15489-1: 2001 standard defines records management as "[the] field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records".

Enterprise content management (ECM) extends the concept of content management by adding a timeline for each content item and, possibly, enforcing processes for its creation, approval, and distribution. Systems using ECM generally provide a secure repository for managed items, analog or digital. They also include one methods for importing content to bring manage new items, and several presentation methods to make items available for use. Although ECM content may be protected by digital rights management (DRM), it is not required. ECM is distinguished from general content management by its cognizance of the processes and procedures of the enterprise for which it is created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste recycling</span> Form of recycling

Electronic waste recycling, electronics recycling, or e-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics; when referring to specific types of e-waste, the terms like computer recycling or mobile phone recycling may be used. Like other waste streams, reuse, donation, and repair are common sustainable ways to dispose of IT waste.

Utilimaster, a subsidiary of The Shyft Group, manufactures multi-stop trucks. It was founded in 1973 in Wakarusa, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burn bag</span> Bag used to contain classified items for burning

A burn bag is a security bag that holds sensitive or classified documents which are to be destroyed by fire or pulping after a certain period of time. The most common usage of burn bags is by government institutions, in the destruction of classified materials.

Information diving is the practice of recovering technical data, sometimes confidential or secret, from discarded material. In recent times, this has chiefly been from data storage elements in discarded computers, most notably recoverable data remaining on hard drives. Those in charge of discarding computers usually neglect to erase the hard drive. It is often in such circumstances for an information diver to copy installed software. Other data may also be available, such as credit card information that was stored on the machine. Companies claim to be especially careful with customer data, but the number of data breaches by any type of entity suggest otherwise. In the UK, information diving has been referred to as "binology."

A data breach is a security violation, in which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, altered or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Other terms are unintentional information disclosure, data leak, information leakage and data spill. Incidents range from concerted attacks by individuals who hack for personal gain or malice, organized crime, political activists or national governments, to poorly configured system security or careless disposal of used computer equipment or data storage media. Leaked information can range from matters compromising national security, to information on actions which a government or official considers embarrassing and wants to conceal. A deliberate data breach by a person privy to the information, typically for political purposes, is more often described as a "leak".

Data erasure is a software-based method of data sanitization that aims to completely destroy all electronic data residing on a hard disk drive or other digital media by overwriting data onto all sectors of the device in an irreversible process. By overwriting the data on the storage device, the data is rendered irrecoverable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stericycle</span> American waste management company

Stericycle is a compliance company that specializes in collecting and disposing regulated medical waste, such as medical waste and sharps, pharmaceuticals, hazardous waste, and providing services for recalled and expired goods. It also provides related education and training services, and patient communication services. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois, with many more bases of operation around the world, including Medical waste incinerators in Utah and North Carolina.

shred is a command on Unix-like operating systems that can be used to securely delete files and devices so that it is extremely difficult to recover them, even with specialized hardware and technology; assuming it's even possible to recover the file at all. It is a part of GNU Core Utilities. Being based on the Gutmann method paper, it suffers from the same criticisms and possible shortcomings.

In computer security a countermeasure is an action, device, procedure, or technique that reduces a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken.

The Ontario power plant scandal relates to the decisions by the Liberal government to cancel the construction of two natural gas power plants: one in Mississauga and another in Oakville. Members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC) as well as the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) also voted to cancel the power plant. The Mississauga cancellation was made as a late campaign promise in the 2011 general election. From immediately following the election until March 18, 2013, the Liberal government stated that the cost of the cancellations was $230 million — $190 million for the Mississauga plant and $40 million for the Oakville plant. A final report by the Auditor General of Ontario that was released on October 8, 2013, found the total cost of the cancellations was $950 million. This cost included estimates of future costs to the ratepayers.

Restore plc is a company incorporated in England and Wales. The main country of operation is the United Kingdom. It is an AIM-listed support services company and has two divisions: Document Management and Relocation .Since 2010, it has expanded through the acquisition and is now driving abroad based high growth strategy based on organic growth, acquisitions and margin expansion, with the most recent large acquisitions in 2021 of Computer Disposals Ltd and EDM.

Data sanitization involves the secure and permanent erasure of sensitive data from datasets and media to guarantee that no residual data can be recovered even through extensive forensic analysis. Data sanitization has a wide range of applications but is mainly used for clearing out end-of-life electronic devices or for the sharing and use of large datasets that contain sensitive information. The main strategies for erasing personal data from devices are physical destruction, cryptographic erasure, and data erasure. While the term data sanitization may lead some to believe that it only includes data on electronic media, the term also broadly covers physical media, such as paper copies. These data types are termed soft for electronic files and hard for physical media paper copies. Data sanitization methods are also applied for the cleaning of sensitive data, such as through heuristic-based methods, machine-learning based methods, and k-source anonymity.

References

  1. "Stericycle moving headquarters to Bannockburn". Crain's Chicago Business. 2 October 2018.
  2. Blair, Jayson (11 June 2000). "Making Sure There's No Paper Trail". The New York Times .
  3. Reinicke, Carmen (2018-06-21). "The biggest cybersecurity risk to US businesses is employee negligence, study says". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  4. Dallaire, Justin (2019-06-18). "Execs still underestimate impact of data breaches". strategy. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  5. Catricala, Maria. "Shred-It Data Protection Report Shows Big Gap Between Canadian Businesses and Consumers When it Comes to Information Security". www.uzado.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  6. "Having peace of mind on data security goes beyond emptying your recycle bin". sg.news.yahoo.com. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  7. "Securit Mfg Solutions, A DIV.OF SHRED-IT CANADA CORP INC. 5075 NORTH SERVICE RD BURLINGTON ONTARIO L7L 5H6 | Supplier Report — Panjiva". panjiva.com.
  8. "Cintas Corporation Announces Agreement with Shred-it International Inc. to Combine Document Shredding Businesses". Yahoo Finance. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014.
  9. Lambert, Lance. "Cintas 3Q earnings up 13.2%". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  10. "Stericycle Completes Shred-it Acquisition from Cintas". www.nasdaq.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  11. "7 Facts About Document Shredding You Need to Know". www.securitymagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  12. "Shred-It mobile trucks at Oakville Place this Saturday". InsideHalton.com. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  13. "Shredding a necessary evil for companies to avoid data theft". gulfnews.com. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  14. Levy, Joel (2018-08-27). "Global information security firm, Shred-it, began as a startup in Oakville". Toronto Guardian. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  15. "Hard Drive Destruction Service".
  16. "Industrial & Clothing Shredding Services". 29 September 2023.