Pen To Paper - Spring 2020

P2P Magazine | 15 www.p2pmag.co.uk In a busy working environment, it’s easy for sensitive data to end up in the wrong hands.With GDPR now shaping the way we deal with confidential information, data compliance and security should be an absolute focus for any business that handles sensitive data, including printed material. Research by the Ponemon Institute 1 shows that 77% of companies shred less than 50% of all documents containing sensitive or confidential information. Pair that with ICO statistics showing that 40% of UK data security incidents involve paper and it is clear that businesses should be doing more to secure paper-based information. Organisations that fail to securely dispose of or store printed documents in the correct manner will continue to put themselves at risk of data misuse. Paying the price Unlike online documents, which can be secured by encryption, for example, paper’s accessibility and portability makes it vulnerable to a variety of threats including accidental loss, emergency abandonment, espionage or theft. Such breaches are far from uncommon. Research by the Parliament Street think-tank shows that almost 10,000 documents were lost or stolen from 68 NHS hospital trusts in 2017 and only last year a cache of Top Secret files from chemical warfare establishment Porton Down were found in a wheelie bin in London. Both cases caused national outcries, with the National Health Service (NHS) and military officials at Porton Down suffering investigations and fines due to their mishandling of important paper documents. For businesses, there is the added risk of bad PR and a loss of stakeholder trust. These examples are not there to alarm organisations. Rather, they should act as a reminder to them to manage documents properly and in a GDPR- compliant manner throughout their lifecycle, including their destruction. Eliminate threats It’s essential for any organisation to have the right processes in place to ensure staff remain GDPR-compliant when disposing of private documents. This should start with the creation of a confidential waste policy and investment in an in-house shredder. Making disposal part of the everyday routine will give peace of mind that paper waste is being destroyed immediately and remove the possibility of loss or theft. As part of this, organisations should educate employees on the different security levels to use when disposing of paper waste. For example, Finance and HR departments handling documents containing highly sensitive information should consider micro-cutting to a level of P-5. For a general office environment, where speed and convenience are priorities, a cross-cut shredder with a P-4 security level is the best option. One of the simplest ways to remove the risk of data breaches is to enforce a clean desk policy. This ensures that private documents remain hidden from third-party visitors. By employing a clean desk policy and preventing important documents from piling up on desks and in cabinets, offices can reduce the risk of misplacing or misusing paper documents. Don’t leave compliance to chance To remain GDPR-compliant, organisations shouldn’t treat the destruction of paper-based data as an afterthought. It is vital that they give equal consideration to all document types, including electronic files and printed material. To avoid the loss or misuse of paper waste, it’s essential that all businesses, regardless of their size, invest in an appropriate in-house shredder (or shredders) that will render paper documents secure at the time of shredding. Only by doing this can business owners protect themselves from the cost, bad publicity and reputational damage of a data breach. Mark Harper is Head of Sales at HSM UK Ltd. The product portfolio at HSM environmental technology includes vertical and horizontal filling lid baling presses with a pressing force of 3 to 70 tons, as well as semi-automatic and fully automatic channel baling presses with up to 150 tons of pressing force. Furthermore, various special solutions are produced for the emptying, perforating, crushing and compressing of PET bottles. Powerful machines for shredding large volumes of data, such as document shredders and hard disk shredders, offer an economical complement to the service portfolio of a professional waste disposal company. https://uk.hsm.eu/ https://uk.hsm.eu/product-range/ shredding/securio/ 1 Security of Paper Records & Document Shredding , Ponemon Institute for Cintas, January 2014 www.cintas.com SHREDDERS Better shred than read Mark Harper of HSM UK provides insight into how and why businesses need to introduce and maintain the correct processes when disposing of paper waste Mark Harper