Cintas recently hosted a webinar with Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, to explore the results of a study titled, "Security of Paper Records and Document Shredding." The purpose of the study was to determine current practices to secure sensitive documents during the shredding and destruction process.

"Despite the steady increase in data breaches, our study revealed that many businesses still don't have the right programs in place to safeguard sensitive information," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute. "Neglecting to secure your paper and digital records can compromise your organization by putting valuable customer data and business intelligence at risk."

Throughout the webinar, Dr. Ponemon highlighted the following:

  • One-third of respondents say their organizations do not have a policy for the secure destruction of confidential documents.
  • Among those respondents who say their organization has a policy, more than half (51 percent) say it does not cover the secure destruction of hard drives.
  • While 55 percent of organizations represented in this study train their employees on the secure disposal of confidential documents, only 38 percent say they are confident that the training helps ensure the secure disposal of confidential documents.
  • Nearly three-fourths of respondents believe that using an outside shredding service is more effective than relying on employees to properly shred and/or destroy confidential information.

"Based on this information, we would recommend organizations have rigorous procedures in place for monitoring the protection and safe disposal of documents," added Ponemon.

"Training is the first critical step for employees to understand their role in disposing of sensitive and confidential information," said Sarah Koucky, Senior Director of Security and Compliance, Cintas Document Management. "Physical protection and programs such as document shredding and hard drive destruction can safeguard paper and digital data at the end of its lifecycle in an efficient and easy manner."

For more information and to view the webinar and download the study, please visit www.Cintas.com/Ponemon-Shredding-Report.

About Cintas Corporation:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services and document management services for more than 1 million businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

About Ponemon Institute:

Ponemon Institute is dedicated to independent research and education that advances responsible information and privacy management practices within business and government. Our mission is to conduct high quality, empirical studies on critical issues affecting the management and security of sensitive information about people and organizations.

Mulberry Marketing Communications
Christina Alvarez
312-664-1532
calvarez@mulberrymc.com