Certified ITAD Vendors Keep Your Financial Company Regulation Compliant

While keeping sensitive data and information safe on the IT equipment your financial business is currently using is absolutely vital, it is easy to forget that protecting any information stored on out-of-use IT equipment is just as important.

Actually, equipment that has been retired from a financial business’s network can be even more vulnerable than those IT assets that are currently in use. This is because businesses may not consider the many potential risks for data breaches or theft that are not as immediately obvious.

Partnering with a certified IT Asset Disposition company is incredibly advantageous when it comes to safeguarding your financial business against these less obvious digital and informational security risks.

Data Security and Consumer Protections Regulations 

For any company that handles digital or documented consumer information in a financial context, there are a range of regulatory requirements for disposing of these materials. These consumer protection and data security regulations can cut across the federal, state, and local levels and require different types of data destruction processes.

FACTA – In 2005, a rule was included in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) that requires the proper disposal of any consumer information held by businesses. This is known as the “Disposal Rule,” and it entails that all such information must be destroyed to the extent that it cannot be reconstructed. When financial businesses are found to be in violation of this FACTA rule, they may face fines or other undesirable legal entanglements.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Data Protection Act – This regulation, known as GLBA, sets a standard of practices for financial institutions and organizations, specifically, in order to protect all sensitive consumer records. GLBA requires institutions to maintain specific documented programs for consumer data security and also compels those institutions to contract appropriate vendors in order to ensure proper ITAD.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act – The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act, enacted in 2002, compels all publicly traded corporations to achieve a high standard of data security measures. Such organizations must document and asses those security measures regularly in order to maintain legal compliance. The SOX Act is intended to protect the data of employees and shareholders, as well as general consumers.

Relevant ITAD Certifications

Partnering with a professional and experienced ITAD company helps to ensure that your business is complying with all relevant consumer protection and data security regulations. Trusted ITAD professionals will boast certain certifications that speak to their regulatory compliance and high ethical standards.

R2 Certification – The Responsible Recycling (R2) Certification is reserved for those companies who adhere to a certain set of practices, destruction documentation, and safety measures in IT asset disposition that guarantee a high standard of both data security and business ethics.

e-Stewards Certification – Established by the environmental non-profit group Basel Action Network (BAN), e-Stewards ensures responsible recycling and is focused on the illegal export of hazardous electronic waste. Certification requires stringent environmentally and socially responsible practices including no export of hazardous electronic wastes to developing countries, no use of prison labor and no dumping of toxic materials in municipal landfills. It is the first such program backed by environmental organizations and major corporations alike.

SEAM offers a variety of certified ITAD options in the Sioux Falls, SD area and also across South Dakota. SEAM boasts both the R2 Certification and e-Stewards Certification, ensuring the best in secure IT Asset Disposition for your financial business. For more information about ITAD options or to request a quote, contact SEAM at 605-274-7326 (SEAM) or visit us online.