Shredding Securely
Recent advances in technology mean that many documents are held electronically; however, there are still many documents that are kept in paper format. The printing of documents is still routine in many businesses and unless they are disposed of properly there is a risk that they will end up in the wrong hands, which may threaten the security and privacy of a business.
Shredding documents can reduce the risk of industrial espionage. Shredding is not just a case of keeping a business’s documents secure and private it is also a legal requirement under the Data Protection Act.
Knowing which documents to shred is important; sensitive information can often be thrown away by employees who do not realise the importance of company reports, payroll information, invoices, customer lists and even complaints. All these documents should be confidential and must be securely destroyed.
Companies can devise their own shredding policies or employ a third party specialist organisation, which will be able to offer advice regarding which documents should be disposed of by shredding. Typically they include strategic reports, budgets, manuals, activity sheets, payroll information, applications, performance appraisals, supplier records, corporate records and medical records.
The Data Protection Act 1998 affects all companies, yet many directors and senior management are unaware that if they fail to comply with the act they could be fined or even imprisoned. This is why all businesses should have a data management strategy that ensures confidential data is shredded once it is no longer required. All members of staff should be aware of their company’s policy for disposing of confidential material.
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