Document destruction is the process of cutting paper documents into tiny little strips in order to prevent the sensitive information inside to fall into the wrong hands. There are many grave things that could happen if such information were compromised. First on the list is identity theft. Identity theft is a multimillion dollar industry operating on the malicious use of personal information. In other words, personal information, like names and addresses can be used to hack into a person’s bank account, mail, and so on.

In an effort to protect against information theft and its accompanying threats, a company must be careful with handling and disposing of private documents. Whilst the information has value to the company, it must be protected at all cost. A single mistake can cause the downfall of the company. For example, if one person related to the company in any way were to have his or her information compromised, the others will lose trust in that company. Chances are the company will be sued for negligence and made to reimburse the person of all financial damages.

The most common method of document destruction is paper shredding. This is why many businesses put a lot of stock in buying paper shredders and similar devices. Some companies hire document shredding services too, rather than shred the documents themselves.