What is NAID Certification and Why It Matters

Finding a data destruction company you can trust is challenging, but what should you examine? Reviews, branding, NAID certification? With so many considerations, it’s tough to find a reliable provider.

Although 64% of marketers agree that word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective channel, businesses must look at far more than a good recommendation. Within document destruction, the NAID certification is the minimum businesses should consider. In this guide, we discuss what is NAID, what it means to be NAID AAA certified, and why it matters for compliance.

Who is NAID?

The NAID meaning is the National Association for Information Destruction. As one of the most well-known certifications surrounding data destruction, it’s no surprise that businesses look for this certification when partnering with a document destruction company.

Initially founded in 1994, this non-profit merged with PRISM International in 2018 to form i-SIGMA, the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association. i-SIGMA verifies that any provider of data destruction services meets minimum information disposal standards. These standards are detailed underneath the NAID AAA certification.

As a respected non-profit, i-SIGMA sets standards for compliance laws, such as HIPAA, SOX, and CFAA. Additionally, vendors that are AAA certified also comply with states that have implemented PII legislation. No law requires data destruction companies to be i-SIGMA members or hold an NAID certification. However, since these certifications are awarded based on membership and a physical audit, any respectable vendor will possess this certification.

In short, any vendor with a current AAA certification reliably provides destruction services that adhere to the highest standards.

What Does it Mean to Be NAID AAA Certified?

Data breaches continually reach record highs, and no industry is safe. For example, in 2023, 88 million people have seen their personal health information exposed. It underlines the importance of secure document destruction to prevent data breaches by closing off an attack vector. Whether these are physical documents or data held within an old hard drive, improper destruction can allow savvy criminals to restore and access that data.

But what does it mean if a data disposal provider has a triple-A certification with NAID? A company with an NAID AAA certificate is entirely voluntary. Still, as worries over data security rise, it should come as no surprise that this is obligatory for all intents and purposes.

The existence of this certification helps businesses verify that a shredding provider they work with meets the strict disposal standards set by this non-profit. Unlike other certifications in the business world, obtaining NAID certification isn’t a box-checking exercise. All vendors must pass an annual audit delivered unannounced. These are conducted by Certified Protection Professionals (CPP), who examine several core areas, including:

• Operational security
• Facility security
• Destruction processes
• Secure hiring practices
• Liability coverage

The entire process is rigorous and requires physical inspections as standard. The requirement to renew your certification annually via unannounced audits ensures that customers have peace of mind. To the public, these vendors have gone the extra mile to prove their efficiency, effectiveness, and legal compliance.

What are the benefits of NAID AAA certification?

Each company that obtains NAID certification will receive a number. But what is an NAID number? It’s the number that you can cross-check with NAID to ensure the certification is both legitimate and current. Why should businesses take the time to search specifically for a NAID-certified company for their destruction needs? Here are some of the benefits of working with these vendors.

Information Destruction Best Practices

Anyone can buy a shredder and throw some paper inside. However, not all data destruction processes were created equal. Information destruction has an entire set of best practices, which may vary by industry, to ensure that when data is destroyed, it cannot be recovered. This includes:

• Paper shredding
• Hard drive destruction
• Storage device wiping
• Ensuring end-to-end data security

Working with an NAID company guarantees that your data is in safe hands, whether you opt for on-site or off-site shredding services.

State-of-the-Art Destruction Equipment

One of the hallmarks that separates an NAID-certified destruction provider from everybody else is the presence of proper equipment and facilities. These vendors utilize industrial-standard shredders housed within secure facilities. Additionally, many may even provide secure recycling to help you reduce your carbon footprint. Working with these vendors ensures that you work with a partner who can guarantee the destruction of your data.

Advanced Employee Training

As part of NAID certification, brands must demonstrate that the personnel hired is screened and trained to the highest standards. This certification requires firms to prove that they have performed in-depth background checks and provide ongoing training to ensure legally compliant destruction.

These stricter certification standards tell you you are working with a partner who goes above and beyond to hire the best talent and keep up with the fast-changing world of document destruction.

Extra Commitment to Data Security and Privacy

It’s not uncommon for businesses to opt for in-house data destruction because they don’t feel like they can trust a third-party vendor. This trust gap is one of the reasons why NAID exists in the first place.

Due to the resources that must be expended to claim a NAID certification and maintain it year after year, it’s proof that you’re working with a brand that has wholly committed itself to the highest levels of security. Knowing that your partner takes their commitment seriously increases the chances that your information will be protected during destruction.

Higher Standard of Service

Stringent protocols exist for employees interacting with businesses during their visits. A failure in service can result in a failure to be certified because so many of the requirements are indirectly tied to providing a five-star service.

NAID AAA-certified companies demonstrate that they provide top-tier service, making it more likely these standards will extend to their broader customer service division. Ultimately, handing off sensitive media to a destruction provider requires developing that trust, and NAID goes a long way toward achieving that.

Highly Trained Employees

It’s natural to want the best of the best when embarking upon such a critical task. Failure to destroy data properly can result in an array of consequences, including:

• Regulatory penalties
• Operational disruption
• Loss of consumer trust
• Loss of Intellectual Property (IP)
• Lawsuits

As per NAID standards, companies with their certification must provide the appropriate employee training and engage in regular ongoing training to keep updated on industry trends. Naturally, skilled employees increase the chances that protocols and regulations will always be followed.

Proof of Compliance

After every visit, you will receive a Certificate of Destruction (CoD), which proves that your data was properly destroyed. Due to this document’s role in the chain of custody, it’s designed to act as a paper trail that proves that you followed protocols if a data breach does occur. If the worst happens, evidence that you worked with a certified company ensures you fulfilled your legal obligations – and can prove it.

How Does a Company Become NAID AAA Certified?

NAID is different from other certifications you might come across in the business world. You cannot earn this certification by paying a fee, sending away some paperwork, or performing a self-audit.

Embarking upon NAID certification means committing to comprehensive audits carried out by a third party. These visits are usually unannounced and leave no stone unturned. With annual audits required to qualify, any destruction provider must earn their AAA rating every single year.

• Carry out comprehensive background checks.
• Maintain NDAs with employees.
• Conduct hiring and random drug screenings.
• Use only GPS-tracked vehicles.
• Maintain up-to-date policies and procedures.
• Require ID badges and uniforms for employees.
• Conform to best-practice data transportation.
• Fleets with lockable cabs and cargo zones.
• Use shredders meeting certain specifications.

This is in addition to the requirement for all destruction activities to be monitored and supervised by other employees. Also, it’s vital to mention that minimum standards are constantly increased as new attack vectors are uncovered and laws change. In other words, a NAID-certified company will know where every document and employee is while at the customer’s place of business, in transit, and at their secure facility.

If a company fails any of the above points, it’s grounds for seeing their certification stripped. Since NAID is such a well-known certification, losing triple-A status can be enough to ruin any vendor. While these strict requirements are in place, they elevate the status and importance of NAID, showing customers that they are working with the best of the best.

Corodata is NAID Certified

Working with an AAA NAID vendor for data destruction is non-negotiable. These are the providers that can adhere to the highest standards – and prove it independently. At Corodata, we go the extra mile to maintain our NAID