Top 5 Data Destruction Trends and Takeaways from the (NAID) i-SIGMA Conference 2022

Posted in Blog

Glenn Laga

The Guardian team recently flew back (and boy, are our arms tired) from the i-SIGMA  (International Secure Information Governance & Management Association) National Conference and Expo in Orlando. Connecting with peers and suppliers and learning what’s new in data privacy were our primary targets.

After a two-year COVID hiatus, the most talked-about and interesting i-SIGMA (Prism and NAID) trends:

1. Paper records are in a heavy purge mode as it’s just too difficult to correct or delete private data that can’t be quickly dug out of a box. What’s the urgency? Article 5 of the GDPR says that personal data should be kept “for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.” It also says companies must do all they can to ensure that the data is accurate. 

2. To comply with GDPR’s on-demand and “without delay” data requirements and to create anonymized data lakes, stored paper documents are being scanned into document tracking systems. Secure, rapid scanning services and data storage are growing as a result.  (And, of course, companies new to electronic data storage must create a comprehensive data destruction plan to prevent a data breach or a regulatory violation.)

3. MDM (mobile device management) setups really took off during COVID to make remote device security, setup and management so much easier. However, auto device enrollment, provisioning and deployment can be a roadblock to data destruction. IT must unenroll each device to ensure a 100% disconnect from the equipment owner. (We will be doing a deep dive into this topic soon.)

4. Consolidations, acquisitions, mergers and focused services are the buzz. Like any maturing industry, there are changes in markets, services and companies. We’re finding that bigger companies are less interested in providing customized services (we’re happy to step into that vacuum) and that local and small regional companies don’t have the bandwidth for the complexities of the secure electronic data destruction market. More than ever, trusted partnerships are the solution.

5. Breaches are a big deal. Businesses are figuring out that data storage in everything means opportunities for leaks are everywhere. Cars, copiers, printers, kiosks and add-on SSDs are just a few places that are rapidly becoming a part of comprehensive data management plans. (See our list of common places your data may be hiding or attend our Thursday session at IAITAM’s upcoming ACE Conference to see where we’re finding data that’s forgotten, hiding or sneaking by).

Three days of touring shred trucks, checking out degaussers, absorbing new ideas, reuniting with friends and colleagues as well as learning what’s new and who’s new were just part of the jam-packed, three-day event. Plenty of good food and honest-to-goodness face-to-face reunions made the annual i-SIGMA Conference and Expo a very worthwhile event.

If you have any questions or feedback about our data destruction trendspotting, reach out to us. 

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