NAID stands for the National Association of Information Destruction. It was founded in 1992 as a trade association for businesses that directly provided secure and transparent destruction services. In the beginning, the association offered education and marketing materials to help businesses promote their services, but NAID underwent a drastic transformation in 2000 with the addition of a certification program. More than 1,000 operations on five continents are certified by NAID, including mobile, plant-based, paper, and computer destruction services. NAID AAA Certification is required by hundreds of government offices and thousands of private contracts.
Becoming a member of this prestigious organization isn’t easy. A NAID AAA Certified provider must comply with extensive requirements and submit to rigorous audits of their facilities, workers, vehicles and other operations. They are audited annually and often with no advance notice. If a certified provider repeatedly fails the audit or other concerns arise, NAID will pull the certification.
So, you know that when you hire a NAID AAA Certified company, it means something.
Features of NAID AAA Certification
NAID certification auditors verify that protocols are in place to ensure the security of confidential material throughout all stages of the destruction process such as handling, transporting, storing materials prior to destruction, and destroying and disposing of materials responsibly. This also includes any transfer of custody scenarios.
Regular, annual audits and unscheduled, surprise audits are conducted by trained security professionals. This means that certified companies operate knowing they may receive an unannounced audit on any day, at any time, providing a powerful motivator for ongoing compliance.
The program requires written policies and procedures for each company to ensure incident response preparedness, employee training, and regulatory compliance.
Accredited auditors review employee background screening and training, compliance with written procedures, access controls, operational security, destruction equipment, and confidentiality agreements.
An extensive, three-level background screening process verifies that no individual with a known history of related crimes will be handling confidential material.
The Certification Review Board tracks reports of non-compliance and takes immediate remedial action to bring certified companies back into compliance. Repeat or serious infractions will result in fines and may result in the removal of certification.
American Shredding maintains its NAID AAA Certification and it can be viewed here.
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