...
When you no longer need to keep sensitive information, it should be securely destroyed. If the data is considered Personal Information under under Massachusetts law, once once it is no longer needed it must be securely destroyed such that it cannot be read and cannot be recovered by any reasonable means. Additionally, you must destroy sensitive data if the physical device is leaving your care (e.g. to be transferred to a different department, to be donated to an outside organization, or to be sent back to the original vendor). If you decide that you need to destroy data securely, consider the recommendations below.
...
Either digital data must be overwritten with random data, or the physical media on which it is stored must be destroyed (or both). In either case, the data must be rendered unreadable and unrecoverable before destruction is considered complete.
Stored Data
You can use use IdentityFinder to find and 'shred' sensitive data. This will overwrite the file with random data and then erase it from the filesystem. You can also use the free and open-source Eraser tool to securely erase files or to securely erase all the free space on a drive.
...
For small volumes of data on paper, you can purchase and install a cross-cut shredder for a few hundred dollars. For larger volumes, please contact your your Information Steward to to work towards a shredding service.
...