Secure destruction

How do I get paper records destroyed?

Paper records considered "public" do not require secure destruction and may be recycled.

Secure destruction of other paper records is achieved through cross-cut shredding of the paper.

Shredding can be done in three ways:

  1. A unit shredder – suitable for small volumes
  2. On-site shredding service provider – required for highly-confidential records
  3. Off-site shredding service provider – appropriate for internal or confidential records

Note that the service providers can supply secure bins of various sizes which can be emptied on a scheduled basis or they can provide ad hoc pick up service.

Learn more about our service providers

Guidelines for the Secure Destruction and Deletion of University Records and Information

How do I get electronic records destroyed?

Similarly, electronic records that are not highly-confidential can be destroyed simply by invoking the delete function of your software (i.e. hitting the delete key or right click on your mouse and selecting the delete function). This will delete the reference to the record, leaving it potentially recoverable; however, this deletion is sufficient for records that are not highly-confidential.

Electronic records that are highly-confidential require the use of deletion software that overwrites the record, making it effectively irrecoverable. Use of that software is described in the "How to" section of this webpage.

Information describing what records are considered highly confidential is found in the University Information Security Classification Procedures.

Guidelines for the Secure Destruction and Deletion of University Records and Information

How do I get hard drives, memory sticks, mobile phones, etc. destroyed?

Purchasing or University Systems will direct you on disposing of removable storage and other devices.

If your unit is supported by Systems' Desktop Computer Support (DCST), contact your DCST support person; information on security and secure disposal of devices is found here.

If your unit is not supported by DCST, Purchasing arranges secure destruction of devices. Learn more here.

Devices and removable storage media requiring secure physical destruction include, but are not limited to: hard drives, flash media, USB keys, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, computer tapes, audio and video storage devices, PDAs, smart phones and cell phones, and hard drives in all printers and copiers.

Information describing which records are considered highly confidential is found in University Information Security Classification Procedures.

Guidelines for the Secure Destruction and Deletion of University Records and Information

How do I know when to get records and devices destroyed?

Under construction.

Contact us at: