How a Secure Chain of Custody Protects Your Data

When transporting your company’s data-bearing hardware—whether it be internationally or domestically—your primary concern should be the comprehensive safeguarding of that data. Hardware shipments of any level create logistical nightmares for your warehouse and IT teams, especially when you consider the complexities of shipping international cargos. And if your company operates under strict compliance regulations, then shipments that are not executed properly can make the difference between business success and lost contracts, if not result in more serious legal ramifications. In short, you must get a secure chain of custody that is right the first time and maintain it while the hardware is in transit.

This is what secure chain of custody looks like.

Find the Right Vendor

We don’t have to warn you about the harsh repercussions of a large-spread data breach; you’ve already seen the articles about organizations like Equifax, Yahoo, and Target. Don’t let your brand suffer due to momentary negligence or ignorance during a single hardware shipment. All it takes is one minor theft, breach of compliance, or improper documentation during transit to mar the face of your company for the foreseeable future.

However, such financial loss, customer dissatisfaction, and legal fallout can be avoided when you contract with the right expert, like CentricsIT. Our chain of custody protocols provide you with meticulously documented, time-stamped, and secured shipments for your data-bearing devices, whether it be a short trip across town or a long trek across international borders. At all times, we keep your organization well within the bounds of your compliance strictures.

We accomplish this by strict adherence to industry-level methodologies and physical safeguards. The purpose of a meticulous chain of custody process is not solely to keep your hardware and data secure; it is also to provide irrefutable empirical evidence to authenticate the integrity of the shipment to you, your clients, and your compliance officers.

Here’s how we do it.

We Take Responsibility at the Dock

CentricsIT provides this seamless security and empirical evidence through the following protocols (which can be further customized to ensure that all logistics meet your company’s requirements):

• Upon arrival to the client’s facility, our SmartHands technicians carefully pack the designated units in customized, expandable foam-lined boxes that are then securely crated and palletized.
• Once the equipment is ready for transport, we complete a signature document to show that the shipment has been officially handed-off to our drivers (this document includes the hardware inspection report that is conducted prior by our technicians and your team).
• Next, we load the palletized hardware onto point-to-point dedicated trucks (“dedicated” meaning that the trucks do not stop during transit to pick up other clients’ shipments) and complete the necessary carrier sign-off paperwork before starting the official trip log. We take time-date stamped photos before, during, and after the loading process.
• The pallets are then sealed into the truck with uniquely identifiable, serialized cable locks. Additional time-date stamped photos are taken to show that the seal is untampered and in place at the time of the truck’s departure.
• Each truck is assigned a tandem driving team that follows a specified route and only stops for refueling or restroom breaks—one member of the team remains with the truck at all times. At each stop, time-date stamped photos are taken of the seals, and the time, date, and location are noted in the shipment log.
• Upon arrival to your facility, the truck and locks are inspected to ensure that the cargo has remained intact. Final time-date stamped photos are taken as proof of this.
• Your team will be asked to break the seals and inspect the equipment in the presence of our driving team. Once you are satisfied with the proof of secure transport, we then ask you to sign a document of safe delivery that will immediately be scanned and delivered to you, the logistics team at CentricsIT, and any additional third-party vendors, as necessary.

GPS tracking (with updates generated every 4 hours) can be provided upon request; however, we have found that GPS services are an added complexity and expense that our customers often do not feel the need to explore. If they have worked with us in the past, they know that CentricsIT manages the shipping process from beginning to end, using only the highest level, TSA-approved logistics during transport.

Comprehensive Security, From Point A to Point Z

CentricsIT provides secure chain of custody for every data-bearing hardware shipment by default, and we have the rigorous documentation, physical parameters, and fail-safes to prove it. We work with integrity and welcome accountability at all junctures. As such, we also provide an additional commodity that is not always easy to come by–peace of mind.

Don’t compromise your data through incompetent or unvetted shipping methods—work with the experts at CentricsIT, who guarantee your hardware’s security in motion.

Protect your valuable, data-bearing assets during transit, and sleep soundly. Let the experts at CentricsIT provide end-to-end shipment and chain of custody logistics services. We’ll get it right the first time and for the entire time.