Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo has announced the results of the Office of Consumer Protection’s records disposal investigation, which sought to determine if Kentucky businesses were complying with state law by properly disposing of personal information contained in business records.
During July and August, the Office of Consumer Protection examined publicly accessible trash receptacles of 121 businesses in the Kentucky cities of Florence, Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville. Of those examined, 33 threw away more than 500 records containing the personal information of more than 1,250 people. Of these businesses, 14 businesses threw away more sensitive personal information of almost 1,000 people.
The Office of Consumer Protection has notified the 33 businesses of their violations of the law and is requesting additional information from the 14 businesses that threw away sensitive information. Additionally, other federal and state agencies will be notified of these instances as appropriate. These businesses will be asked to develop or strengthen policies to ensure compliance with the law, and Stumbo’s office will work with them when appropriate.
The records that were retrieved by the Office of Consumer Protection during the investigation were placed in secure storage and will be shredded after they are no longer needed.
Kentucky’s customer records disposal law went into effect July 12, 2006. The law requires a business disposing of records to take steps to ensure portions of the record containing personally identifiable information about customers are destroyed by shredding, erasing or employing an alternative method that makes that information illegible or indecipherable.
The law defines "personally identifiable information" as data that identifies a particular customer, including but not limited to name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, fingerprints, photographs or computerized image, Social Security number, passport number, driver identification number, personal identification card number or code, birth date, medical information, financial information, tax information and disability information.
The Kentucky law also allows a state court lawsuit by a customer injured by a violation of the law and an injunction against a business that violates the law in addition to any other available rights or remedies.
In Memoriam: Greg BrophyGreg Brophy, founder and CEO of Securit Information Security, Toronto, died Sept. 30, 2007, at the age of 44 in a float plane crash in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The crash also claimed Brophy’s eldest brother Sean, 49, Alaska guide Tom 
Beatty, 38, and the pilot, Bruce Stephens. According to published reports, the group was returning to the Royal Wolf Lodge following a fly fishing expedition.
Brophy founded Shred-it, the document destruction division of Securit, in 1988 and used franchising to grow it into one of the world’s largest document destruction companies. In 2002, Brophy expanded his businesses to include records management and storage facilities. (See "Re-Branding Effort" in the May/June 2007 issue of SDB.)
Today, there are more than 140 Securit locations in 16 countries around the world, employing 2,600 people and offering records management, data protection and Shred-it Document Destruction services to 150,000 customers.
Brophy was honored with the Federal Business Development Bank "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award for Ontario in 1993 and the "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1994 by Ernst & Young. He was also recognized as one of Canada’s "Top 40 under 40" in 1995.
In 2003 Shred-it was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, a business awards program sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post and Queen’s School of Business recognizing excellence in Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues greater than $10 million. The company was re-qualified in 2004 and 2005.
In 2005 Brophy created the Securit Foundation, dedicating more than $1 million to charity and education efforts in developing countries, including the construction of AIDS/HIV clinics. The Securit Foundation also provides scholarships for the families of Securit employees.
Brophy is survived by his wife Tracey and their three children Christopher, Megan and Kirsten.
On-Site Shred Enters Houston MarketOn-Site Shred has begun offering secure mobile document destruction services in the Greater Houston area.
The company, owned by Peter Miller, services accounts within a 60-mile radius of Houston.
"We are extremely pleased to begin operations, as it enables us to provide high-security shredding to the Greater Houston community," he says.
On-Site Shred provides residential and commercial service and recycles its paper with Gulf Coast Recycling, Houston.
Miller, who also owns Power Generation Systems Inc., says On-Site Shred has plans to expand beyond document shredding into electronic media destruction in the future. The company is also looking into adding a second truck in 2008.
Study Finds Most Organizations Do Not Have Records Management PolicyAccording to a Compliance Benchmark Study conducted by Iron Mountain, Boston, 65 percent of public and private organizations do not have an enterprise-wide records management policy and program, which could put these organizations at risk for fines and damage to corporate reputation.
The survey of close to 2,000 general counsels, chief information officers and records management professionals from private, public, government and nonprofit organizations, found that while not yet having an enterprise program, 61 percent of these professionals say they are committed to records management improvement and are in the process of identifying plans for development.
According to the study’s findings, 73 percent of those polled state that oversight responsibilities are "not clearly defined" and steering committees have limited participation from key stakeholders.
Despite the confusion regarding oversight, 81 percent of all respondents have a retention schedule that serves as the lynchpin for a compliance program and provides a blueprint for all records management activities.
Although survey participants differ in their assessments of the speed at which they can retrieve active records from on-site filing areas and off-site storage facilities, 90 percent rate their ability to do so as effective and accurate.
Only 38 percent of organizations Iron Mountain surveyed described a consistently applied program for the appropriate disposal of confidential information.
"The good new is that we’re seeing an emergence of competency and strength in key areas of records management, particularly in the highly regulated industries," Laura McDaniel, director of compliant records management at Iron Mountain, says.
Additional information on the Compliance Benchmark Study and a copy of the abstract is available at www.ironmountain.com/benchmark
Total Training Services Introduces Virtual Sales Manager ProgramSpartanburg, S.C.-based Total Training Services, which specializes in sales and marketing training, organizational development and executive education services, has launched its "Virtual Sales Manager" program exclusively for document destruction companies in the United States and Canada.
Ray Barry, president of Total Training Services, says a primary reason some sales professionals fail is that they lack the proper guidance to make them more productive. "They don’t need a micro-manager, they need a coach who will help them realize their potential and accomplish their goals," he adds.
"In this industry, most business owners do not have enough time in the day to lead their sales people to where they want to go and manage their activities. But hiring a sales manager can be very expensive," Barry says. "Our Virtual Sales Manager (VSM) program provides the help and guidance your sales professionals need to be successful at a fraction of the cost."
The VSM program includes a weekly sales meeting via teleconference call with other non-competitive industry sales professionals; assistance with the ramp-up of new hires; activity and revenue metrics to compare against; tips for handling daily objections from potential clients; and scheduled calls with company owners to discuss strengths and improvement areas.
More information is available from Barry at (864) 699-8417 or by e-mailing raybarry@totaltrainingservices.com.
Access Information Management Acquires Atlanta Data StorageSan Francisco-based Access Information Management has announced the acquisition of Georgia-based Atlanta Data Storage. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In addition to being the company’s 10th acquisition, this transaction is significant given that it is Access’ first acquisition completed outside of the Western United States.
Atlanta Data Storage offers hard copy records storage and management and document destruction services in the Atlanta metro area. Access has already announced plans to upgrade the company’s software system and build a new state-of-the art media vault to expand its services in the Atlanta market.
"This is such a significant acquisition for us, it gives us a great point of entry for expanding nationwide," Access CEO Dennis Barnedt says.
The acquisition also comes at the same time Access received a new $40 million debt facility with Goldman Sach’s Specialty Lending Group.
Access Information Management is a leading records management company with facilities serving Hawaii and the California cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including off-site records storage and management, off-site media vault protection, secure shredding and digital solutions.
ProShred Adds Franchise in Las VegasProShred has announced that it will be opening its newest mobile shredding operation in Las Vegas.
The company, started in 1986 in Toronto, has been growing throughout North America through the use of franchise agreements.
ProShred recently awarded the Southern Nevada office to John Moehrle. He says he expects the business to be operational by the end of this year. The franchise will service Clark, Nye and Lincoln counties in Nevada.
Shredding Firm Opens New LocationStop & Shred Franchise System LLC, based in Indiana, has announced the opening of its newest facility, which is tailored to home and small and mid-sized business customers. The company also offers security bin placement and pickup services for business.
The first Stop & Shred store was founded in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 2004.
"Our new Stop & Shred facility offers small to mid-sized businesses, as well as the home residents of Indianapolis, a convenient and confidential way to dispose of critical documents without the contract minimums and pickup cost of the larger, truck-based document shedders," Chris Shepherd, owner of the Indianapolis Stop & Shred franchise, says.
In addition to shredding documents, Stop & Shred can destroy CDs, VCR tapes, folders, binders, credit cards, cancelled checks, microfilm and microfiche in bulk quantities.
Massachusetts Shredding Companies MergeNortheast Data Destruction, Mansfield, Mass., and Doc Shredding, Stoughton, Mass., have merged their operations to form a new company called Northeast Data Destruction LLC.
The new company offers on-site and off-site shredding services as well as hard drive destruction and asset management, including the decommissioning and recycling of electronic components and material recycling services.
"This will allow us to provide a complete and comprehensive list of secure client services, eliminating the need to involve various vendors," Randy Miller, general manager and principal of Northeast Data Destruction, says. "Our combined expertise in the field of on-site and off-site document destruction, as well as recycling and material recovery, will support clients with multiple requirements. Further, it will allow our clients to not only efficiently and securely dispose of confidential documents, files and media, but also allow for cost-effective recycling of electronics and other items typically generated in an office environment."
Miller has more than 30 years of experience in the recycling and solid waste disposal field.
More information on Northeast Data Destruction LLC is available from the company’s Web site at www.nedest.com.
IN BRIEF Cintas Acquires European FirmCintas, based in Cincinnati, has announced the acquisition of Certo Information Management, based in the Netherlands. This marks the company’s first acquisition outside of North America.
While Cintas’s document shredding and storage business accounts for less than 4 percent of its revenues, sales for the division have been climbing, with figures for 2007 up 78 percent compared to the previous year, according to the company.
Cintas President and CEO Scott Farmer says the company will seek to make additional acquisitions outside North America, though it will not do so aggressively.
Louisiana Agency Suffers Security BreachIron Mountain, Boston, has notified the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) that it lost backup media belonging to the agency in mid-September.
After discovering the loss, Iron Mountain began efforts to locate the media. LOSFA reported the incident to the appropriate state authorities and began its public notifications.
The data is compressed and requires special software, specific computer equipment and sophisticated computer skills to access it.
LOFSA says it has no reason to believe the information has been accessed or misused.