Financial Services Industry

GLBA-Compliant Data Destruction for Financial Services

Witnessed destruction of hard drives, SSDs, and backup tapes for banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, and fintechs. Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1. Certificate of Destruction in 24 hours, designed to satisfy GLBA Safeguards Rule and PCI DSS v4 Requirement 9.4.

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  • 24-Hour Certificate of Destruction
  • Bonded & Insured Technicians
  • Continuous Chain of Custody
  • Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1
  • Witnessed Destruction

Why Financial Services Destruction Carries Multiple Audit Standards

Financial services data destruction satisfies three concurrent audit standards. The GLBA Safeguards Rule at 16 CFR Part 314.4(c)(8) requires financial institutions to dispose of customer information securely. PCI DSS v4 Requirement 9.4.6 requires destruction of cardholder data media so it cannot be reconstructed.

SOX Section 802 requires 7-year retention of audit-relevant records; meaning destruction documentation itself is a 7-year document. Data Destruction Inc. applies destruction methods that follow NIST SP 800-88 r1 and produces audit documentation that maps to all three regimes.

Three operational constraints define financial destruction. First, NPI (nonpublic personal information) custody changes require a vendor contract under GLBA; Data Destruction Inc. provides a customer-information disposal agreement before any pickup. Second, payment-card environments require evidence that cardholder data was rendered unreadable, not merely overwritten; physical destruction (shredding or degaussing-plus-shred) is the only PCI 9.4.6 method that survives a QSA review. Third, broker-dealer and FINRA-supervised firms must retain a destruction record for the longer of 6 years or the SEC Rule 17a-4 retention window (often 7 years).

Every job produces a Certificate of Destruction with six audit fields populated, a serialized chain-of-custody log, and a destruction-method record per asset; the artifacts that map directly to GLBA examiner workpapers, PCI ROC evidence, and SOX 802 retention.

Regulations Your Business Must Follow

GLBA Safeguards Rule 16 CFR §314.4(c)(8)
Financial institutions develop, implement, and maintain an information security program that includes procedures for the secure disposal of customer information. Data Destruction Inc.'s shredding and degaussing methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1 and satisfy GLBA examiner workpapers.
PCI DSS v4.0 Requirement 9.4.6
Hard-copy materials and electronic media containing cardholder data must be destroyed so data cannot be reconstructed. Physical shredding (HDDs to ≤25 mm, SSDs to ≤2 mm) and tape degaussing-plus-shred satisfy this requirement under QSA review.
SOX Section 802 18 USC §1519 + SEC Rule 17a-4
Audit-relevant records (including destruction documentation) must be retained for the longer of 6 years or 7 years for broker-dealers. Our Certificate of Destruction is retained for 7 years to satisfy both regimes.
FACTA Disposal Rule 16 CFR Part 682
Any person who maintains consumer report information must dispose of it through methods that prevent unauthorized access. FACTA-compliant disposal explicitly recognizes physical destruction of media as a safe-harbor method.
NY DFS Cybersecurity Reg 23 NYCRR §500.13
Financial institutions licensed in New York must securely dispose of nonpublic information per their cybersecurity policy. NIST 800-88 r1 destruction methods satisfy this disposal control.

What Financial Services Buyers Face — and How We Solve It

  • We need a customer-information disposal agreement under GLBA.

    Data Destruction Inc. provides a GLBA-aligned customer information disposal agreement before pickup. It is delivered within 4 business hours of quote acceptance and is countersigned before our truck arrives.

  • Our PCI QSA wants evidence of physical destruction, not overwriting.

    Every job produces a Certificate of Destruction showing the physical destruction method used (shredding to ≤25 mm for HDDs, ≤2 mm for SSDs). This is the artifact your QSA reviews against PCI Requirement 9.4.6.

  • ATM and POS hard drives can't leave our chain of custody.

    On-site mobile destruction brings the shredder to your branch or operations center. Drives are destroyed before leaving your facility, with named witness signatures from your security officer.

  • We have SOX 7-year retention to manage for destruction records.

    Every Certificate of Destruction is retained by Data Destruction Inc. for 7 years — the longer of the GLBA, FACTA, and SOX retention windows. Records are re-available on request throughout the retention period.

  • Backup tapes from broker-dealer settlement systems need separate handling.

    We segregate broker-dealer media from general bank media on the chain-of-custody log, so SEC Rule 17a-4-supervised assets are documented separately for FINRA exam evidence.

  • Our state regulator (NY DFS, MA DOB, CA DBO) requires documented disposal.

    Our Certificate of Destruction format includes the state-regulator-specific fields required by NY DFS 23 NYCRR §500.13, CA Civil Code §1798.81, and similar state laws. One document satisfies federal + state regulators.

Audit Documentation You Receive

  • Certificate of Destruction

    Per-job audit document with chain-of-custody log, destruction methods used, witness signatures, and regulation references. Issued by Data Destruction Inc. within 24 hours.

  • Chain of Custody Log

    Tracks each piece of media from pickup through destruction with timestamps and named handler signatures. Required for audit defense.

  • Serialized Inventory

    Asset-by-asset inventory with serial numbers, manufacturer, model, and asset tag for every destroyed drive. Reconciled against the pickup manifest before destruction.

  • Witness Signatures

    Named-witness verification with printed names, signatures, dates, and times. Customer-witnessed at your facility or independent third-party witnessed at our destruction facility.

  • Insurance Certificate (on request)

    General liability and cyber liability coverage information for your records, audit team, or insurance broker.

  • GLBA Customer Information Disposal Agreement

    The signed disposal agreement establishes the GLBA-aligned legal framework for handling nonpublic customer information. Delivered before pickup and retained by both parties.

CoD

Certificate of Destruction

Issued by Data Destruction Inc. within 24 hours of destruction

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you sign a non-disclosure agreement or contract before pickup?
Yes. Data Destruction Inc. signs an NDA or vertical-specific contract with every financial services client before any pickup is scheduled. The document is delivered electronically within 4 business hours of quote acceptance and is countersigned before our truck is dispatched. Both parties retain the executed document for the full 7-year documentation retention period.

What does the Certificate of Destruction include for Financial Services audits?
The Certificate of Destruction includes six audit fields: asset serial numbers, destruction method used, date and time of destruction, named witness signature, operator and company identification, and chain-of-custody reference number. Each field is populated within 24 hours of destruction. The certificate format is built to satisfy auditor, regulator, and insurance documentation requirements.

Can a financial services client witness the destruction?
Yes. Customer-witnessed destruction is available at your facility through our mobile shredding service, or you can send a representative to witness destruction at our facility. The witness signs the Certificate of Destruction with printed name, signature, and timestamp. Independent third-party witnessing is also available when required by your audit or insurance program.

What destruction methods do you use for financial services media?
We use shredding for HDDs (≤25 mm particle size), shredding for SSDs and flash media (≤2 mm particle size), and degaussing followed by shredding for magnetic backup tapes. Each method maps to NIST SP 800-88 r1 Destroy category for the specific media type. The method used for each asset is recorded on the Certificate of Destruction.

Does your Certificate of Destruction satisfy a PCI QSA's review?
Yes. Each Certificate of Destruction documents the physical destruction method (shredding to ≤25 mm for HDDs, ≤2 mm for SSDs, or degaussing-plus-shred for tape), which is the evidence a Qualified Security Assessor reviews against PCI DSS v4 Requirement 9.4.6. The destruction-method record per asset has been accepted by QSAs in ROC and SAQ-D engagements.

Can you destroy ATM and POS terminal drives on-site?
Yes. Our mobile destruction service brings the shredder to your branch, ATM service center, or POS terminal staging area. Drives are removed from the terminal, destroyed on the same site, and logged on the Certificate of Destruction before the truck leaves. Witness signatures from your security officer are part of the record.

How long do you retain destruction documentation for broker-dealers?
We retain destruction documentation for 7 years — the longer of the GLBA Safeguards Rule recommendation, SOX 802 audit-records requirement, and SEC Rule 17a-4 broker-dealer retention. Records are re-available on request throughout the 7-year window for FINRA exams, SEC inquiries, or internal audit cycles.

Do you handle decommissioning for a multi-branch bank consolidation?
Yes. Multi-branch consolidations use our enterprise workflow: branch-by-branch scheduling, palletized pickup with branch-coded labels, per-branch chain-of-custody manifests, and a master Certificate of Destruction with branch-level line items. Past projects have moved over 8,000 drives across 40+ branches in a single consolidation window.

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Bonded · Insured · 24-Hour Certificate of Destruction · Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1

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