BRM Becomes Authorized Compliance Toolkit Provider

9/15/2009

Business Records Management Becomes Authorized

Compliance Toolkit Provider

Pittsburgh, PA - Business Records Management (BRM), a leader in records and information management in Pennsylvania, is now one of a limited number of companies nationwide to be an authorized distributor for the new Information Destruction Policy Compliance Toolkit. BRM is the only such distributor in western Pennsylvania.

The “Toolkit” is designed to help organizations develop the written information destruction procedures now required by law. According to the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), of which BRM is a member, most organizations in the U.S. report that they currently do not comply with this requirement, leaving them at risk.

In one example, the Federal Trade Commission recently reached a settlement with an Illinois mortgage company for discarding personal information without first destroying it, resulting in a fine of $50,000. In the settlement, the FTC cited the absence of the required written policies and procedures as a basis for the penalty.

The Toolkit is the first and only publication to specifically address information destruction policy development with the goal of making compliance with the laws easy and understandable. Only authorized NAID member representatives are permitted to distribute the Toolkit, and BRM boasts more than ten such representatives.

According to BRM president Steven Wright, “Law enforcement agencies are becoming more aggressive in requiring compliance with information destruction policies as they fight identity theft. In the past year, there have been more fines, charges and penalties for improper disposal of information than in the previous ten years. BRM is proud to offer direction and assistance to area organizations as they effort to comply with federal regulations.”

“For some organizations, the policy on information destruction amounts to a single sentence, advising employees to destroy sensitive information properly before it is discarded,” said NAID executive director Robert Johnson. “In today’s social and business climate, that simply does not provide sufficient direction to employees who are dealing with many forms of media from any number of sources. Regulators, auditors, courts of law, the media and public sentiment are insisting on a more thorough approach to information disposal because of the potentially devastating consequences of improper disposal on people’s lives.”

Alan Andolsen, a highly regarded records management consultant who contributed to the Toolkit, adds, “To my knowledge, this is the most thorough examination of proper information destruction available to date. It is something that can be integrated into almost any existing information management or security program or it can stand on its own.”

The Toolkit contains sample policies and procedures for training, authorization and destruction for a full range of conventional media forms, including paper records, computers, magnetic tapes, optical and micro media. In addition, the Toolkit includes sample forms, templates and other resources useful in implementing the policy.

About Business Records Management

Business Records Management operates facilities in Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Erie. BRM provides information management services to over 3,000 organizations throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and parts of Maryland and New York. Services include Document Storage and Management, Secure Document Shredding, Disaster Recovery, Software Escrow, Backup Tape Storage and Rotation, Email Retention, Imaging and Records Management Consulting.

For more information about Business Records Management,

call 412-321-0600 or visit www.businessrecords.com.

“Your Peace of Mind is Our Priority”

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