Not since I earned top secret security clearance in the Air Force have I been vetted like this for a job. NextUse is a National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) AAA-certified ITAD vendor specializing in data destruction. To work in its facility just north of Boston, I had to pass scrutiny defined by NAID’s stringent standards, even to work in the “front office” away from the super-secure lab where the drives are stored, sanitized, degaussed and shredded.
Here are some of the employee vetting requirements that I had to meet to work at a NAID AAA-certified facility:
- A criminal background check. Do I have outstanding warrants or a criminal history anywhere that I’ve lived? Am I a felon with priors for larceny that might make me a risk for repeat offenses? No, but they didn’t take my word for it and I went under the microscope.
- Drug testing. Do I have a drug addiction that might make me a risk for blackmail or theft to finance a habit? No, but I had to pee in a cup at a certified drug testing lab to prove it.
- Daily logins and visitor badges. Like any highly secure facility, someone unlocks the door in the morning under the watchful eye of recording cameras, enters, and disarms the alarm before the motion sensors alert the police. And every day I arrive shortly after that, sign in at the main entrance and wear a visitor badge throughout the day. Over the next eight hours, I interact with the staff wearing their official picture IDs.
In early September I got the good news that I had passed all the preliminary screenings, and that I would be getting a picture ID of my own. But I’m still not an “access employee.” I cannot work in the ultra high-security lab located beyond biometric-locked doors in a separate alarm zone under additional motion sensors and recording cameras. This would require additional NAID-approved data destruction training.
Not today, maybe someday!
If you’re an IT Asset Manager interested in seeing how NextUse can both securely destroy data located on your retired IT assets and maximize your asset value recovery, complete this short form or call Mark Dobson at 603-834-9443.
