10 Tips for protecting sensitive data in your Organisation

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Shredding Companies Ireland, Confidential shredding limerick, confidential shredding Galway, confidential shredding Cork, confidential shredding Dublin, offsite document destruction, offsite document destruction, offsite document shredding, off site document shredding

Image courtesy of: ts-designs

The two main reasons why Organisations need to protect their data through hiring shredding companies Ireland or establishing security protocols are;

Reputation & Legislation both of which effect the financials of any given Organisation.

All companies inclusive of Shredding companies Ireland need to have some best practices in place to protect their sensitive data.

Historically legislation has varied from region to region within the EU which meant for example; a company receiving confidential shredding limerick may not be subject to the same fines, penalties and procedures as an Organisation receiving confidential shredding Paris.

With the new General Data Protection Regulation coming into effect the legislation will be harmonised across Europe. In 2018-2019 Organisations who experience a data breach through failing to have off site document shredding services in place will receive fines that will be subject to the same criteria as another Organisation may be in another region within Europe.

Image courtesy of: fedemac

Below is a small list of;

Ten Top Tips for protecting sensitive data within your Organisation;

Ensure that all passwords are encrypted in nature. Do not have passwords easy to remember and introduce an encrypted method for password production.
Protect against new malware. Constantly update your software to protect your Companies sensitive information. New malware is being released all the time so you need to be up to date to be protected.
Eliminate USB Key memory drives. When possible Organisations should have a USB ban as it could lead to data being lost from your Company.
Education, knowledge is power. Organisations are advised to run education courses for staff with specific responsibility for Data Protection.
Be ready for disaster. Create a plan of action to follow in the case of a data breach. Fast and effective procedures for disaster reaction can make a significant difference to legal ramifications & your corporate reputation.
Have reward systems vs penalty systems in place for staff. In an event of a data breach the key thing to take away is “what have we learned from this?” vs how will I punish the given employee.
Be lenient with employee internet rules;
1. A lock down scenario is not advised as studies have shown that it increases the likelihood of staff working around these sanctions while also putting your Organisation’s information at risk. Speak with staff, find out what they want and plan the best method of granting it to them.
Establish a remote wipe facility;
1. Leaving and losing mobile devices containing sensitive data is a growing concern for Organisations today. It is advised that you should encrypt all data on these devices and have a remote wiping facility.
All confidential Information needs to be Encrypted.
1. Do not make it easy for people to get access to information.
Inclusion of staff. Include staff in all data protection control implementation. Do not depend on general information streams to effectively communicate the new rules and procedures in place, make specific meetings with the specific departments to effectively communicate your message.

For further information upon how to protect your Organisation from Data loss please contact one of the Security in Shredding Team.

Email: info@securityinshredding.com

Save

Security in Shredding

Specialising in secure confidential document shredding services with a reputation for exceptional security, customer service. Delivering value for money and the utilisation of leading technology compliant to the highest security standards within the industry.

Do’s and Don’ts on Social Media to protect your info

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Secure document shredding Galway, secure document shredding cork, secure document shredding Dublin, mobile paper shredding, onsite paper destruction Ireland, on site paper destruction Ireland, paper shredding Ireland, shredding Ireland,

Image source: tibco.com

Social media has grown where most people will operate across multiple social media platforms. While these such platforms have made us feel closer to friends and family that are far away it has not come without added risk.

Apart from secure document shredding Galway, secure document shredding Dublin and paper shredding Ireland, it is essential for all people using social media to be careful and diligent when using their platforms.

Online criminals can target these platform profiles to make use of our most private details, even details we may not class as “important” can be of high value to an online criminal. Simple “check in” details of our favourite restaurants can end up revealing more than was intended.

Next time before you tweet, click or share your next updates it is important to be sure that you are protecting your information. Below is a brief list of Do’s and Don’ts that we believe will help you to ensure that your privacy is maintained.

DO’s…

Create a strong and long password. We suggest that your passwrods should contain upper and lower case letters with numbers included also. Similar to paper shredding Ireland, a non-secure shred size will be reconstructed where a certified shredding service either a mobile paper shredding service or an offsite paper shredding service resulting in particle shred sizes cannot be reconstructed. Do not make it easy.
Use a two factor login process for authentication purposes. We advise that the phone option where a time sensitive code will be sent to your phone to be entered when logging in on a new device.
Keep all social apps updated, the latest versions will be up to date with all data protection risks at that current time.
Edit your privacy settings on social media. Make sure your information is not being shared with strangers.
Delete old apps from your devices fully. Make sure to go into the settings to fully remove the apps, removing from the screen may not delete all of your data.

Don’ts….

Do not share location details, these include where you live, where you visit regularly and where you vacate to for holidays. This kind of information can put you at risk of identity theft and/or inform criminals of your whereabouts.
Do not post mean and harmful posts online. It is good practice to post about other as you want them to post about you.
Do not take cyberbullying lightly, it can be extremely damaging to your self-esteem and if allows to continue and grow will put your safety and privacy at risk.

For further information upon social media security and confidential paper shredding Ireland please get in touch with one of our team.

Email: info@securityinshredding.com

Security in Shredding

Top tips; How to protect your IDENTITY from ID Theft.

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Security in Shredding

secure document destruction Ireland, document shredding services Ireland, document shredding services, shredding paper Ireland, industrial paper shredding

Secure document destruction Ireland and document shredding services Ireland provide a good level of security for your personal information however there are numerous ways that you can unintentionally provide access to your private information.

Not only does this apply to human citizens but even huge corporate entities have had their systems and processes hacked and private information leaked. If full security teams within these large corporations have failed to protect against a data breach who is to say that your own personal computer is not at risk of being hacked and allow criminals access to your personal info?

Easy tips;

Do not provide personal info over the telephone
1. Some crooks do pose as certain companies for example insurance firms and try to get you to release your PPS number. Never release this number over the phone.
Failing to destroy old hard drives and computers
1. Do not just throw them out or sell them to a company that offers you money for them. These re-sellers of IT equipment will not stand over protecting your data. It is important to always securely destroy hard-drives that you no longer use and remain secure. There are many hard-drive destruction services available to you.
Protect your driver’s license
1. All criminals need is to have a picture of your driver’s license, they do not need your physical license. At all times protect your driving license and be aware of who/where you are providing a copy of it to.
Protect your children’s personal information.
1. Through your child’s young years is essential to protect their information. As it can take years before finding out about this crime, criminals tend to try obtain a child’s identity. Never be too quick to provide your children’s personal details unless you are certain of what will happen to the data and when it will be destroyed through an industrial paper shredding service or another means of secure document destruction.
Secure your mailbox
1. Possibly one of the easiest methods for a criminal to obtain your personal information, simply robbing mail from your post box. Always make certain that your post-box is secure so deter thieves.
Shredding paper Ireland
1. Dumpster diving is not illegal and there is no law to stop people from going through your waste. In actual fact your recyclable waste is sorted during the recycling process. Sensitive information can easily be removed from your waste at any stage of the recycling process. For this reason, it is important to have a document shredding service within your business and when not working, make sure to shred all of your personal documents at home.
Phishing emails
1. These are attempts by scammers to trick you into giving out your personal information such as bank details, passwords and credit card details portraying to be someone else.

We will continue this list next week. For further information upon identity theft, data protection and secure data destruction please contact us through email and one of our helpful team will get back in touch with you.

Email: info@securityinshredding.com

Save

Security in Shredding

Secure Data Processing – What is it?

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Data processing can be defined as “the carrying out of operations on data to retrieve, transform, or classify information”. When completing paper shredding Dublin, paper shredding Limerick or Paper shredding Ireland you are transforming confidential documents that are highly valuable into destroyed paper which is ready to be recycled and holds a value that the recycling market dictates.

Before paper documents enter a destruction process they have a high monetary value to the fraudulent industry as they can be used for identity theft to name but one use.

Video Source: Keppler Speakers

It is important never to treat your waste paper material as a waste product as it is far more valuable than waste. Not alone are the theft issues serious risks but there is also significant fine for Organisations that experience data breaches which are due to go up to 20 million euro.

Another important factor is that The Data Protection Laws apply to “data”, there is no reason to think that paper equates to “data”. It is for this reason that a secure data processing service that destroys all of your waste paper material is implemented instead of a simple offsite paper shredding service as you need to be certain that your service provider acknowledges that it is your data that they are destroying.

For more information upon waste paper management either our Off site shredding service Ireland, or our mobile paper shredding Ireland service please email info@securityinshredding.com

Save

Security in Shredding

Ireland Businesses – Top Six threats to Data Privacy

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Security in Shredding

clear out shredding, onsite document shredding, on site document shredding, onsite shredding service Ireland, on site shredding service Ireland, onsite paper destruction, on site paper destruction, shredding confidential paper, confidential document shredding, confidential document destruction

All Businesses in operation in Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Galway and across Ireland will be aware of Data Breaches and the risks associated with them. A data breach can come in the form of a paper breach when failing to implement confidential document destruction and a digital breach when failing to have appropriate security procedures in place. The knock on negativity that an Organisation faces affects client relationships in addition to damaging your Company image.

In many cases due to DATA PROTECTION LAW your Organisation may be legally responsible to your customers. In this article I will go through my top six threats to Data Privacy for Organisations.

Top SixThreats;

Lack of Data Protocols

In many data breach cases it is found that there was a failure of the Organisation to have even the most basic protocols in place to minimise the loss of customer and employee data. Examples have been; a failure to have confidential paper stored in a secure location when not in use and waste paper material being destroyed through an onsite document shredding facility.

Restricted access to information

A regular mistake by Organisations today both Public and Private is to restrict access to confidential information for employees. A simple “need to know” procedure is a great step in achieving data security.

Failing client expectations

Within many Organisations there seems to be a free for all information sharing tendency. However, in today’s competitive environment business clients and public clients to given Organisations expect to have their information maintained securely. Various staff members with varying staff functions are not required to know one another data details. A simple contract inclusion at employment stage would reduce and minimise this non-required cross function data sharing tendency.

Extended information gathering & sharing

There is an increasing trend in information gathering through online forms and “opt out” functions. This information may be shared among Organisations with no accurate business case to justify such sharing.

Increases in technology

This point covers a multitude of technologies but I will mention two different kinds;

Confidential document shredding – reconstruction technologies
Online digital data technologies that part individuals from their personal information for fraudulent use.

Lack of awareness

There is a concerning level ignorance or lack of knowledge from a Data Controller perspective and general public perspective when dealing with sensitive data.

Data Controllers may lack a degree of awareness of their data protection obligations, such examples can be failing to complete a clear out shredding process at the end of each calendar year or failing to have a confidential document destruction process in place for daily generated materials.

For more information on data privacy Email us at info@securityinshredding.com

The Data Protection Commissioner phone no: +353 57 868 4800

Save

Security in Shredding

Why is waste office paper not actual waste? (Onsite Paper Destruction)

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Security in Shredding

sis-shredded-paper-photo-6

Historically and in some cases today people and Organisations have disposed of waste paper through waste recycling streams and have not hired in an Onsite shredding service nor an offsite shredding service for documents that are no longer required.

Within this blog entry I will be discussed Waste Vs Data (Liability).

Under Waste Management Legislation paper contains a European Waste Catalogue (EWC) Code, now this code means that the material needs to;

Be recycled in line with The European Waste Hierarchy
Be handled and processed through an Organisation that have a waste permit.

Having a waste permit does not mean that you are a waste company and in turn, having systems in place to recycle paper does not mean that you are a Data Processor that provides paper shredding services (I will cover this in more detail later).

Organisations such as Construction firms, Removal firms and Storage firms have waste permits in order to carry their materials but none of these firms are waste operators. With this in mind, why would you release your confidential information that holds legislative fines of up to 20 Million Euro to a waste firm to recycle for you? Even if the waste firm offers “secure paper shredding services”, there is still no reason to justify releasing your data to them based on your legislative responsibility and obligations.

Off site document shredding

Data Processor Vs Materials Processor

A Data Processor is a person/Organisation who processes (E.g. Destroys) personal data on behalf of a Data Controller. A Data Controller is a person/Organisation who controls the contents and use of personal data (Any Organisation).

The key point to take away here is that Data Protection Laws only apply to Data Processors and Data Controllers. So, if a Data Controller (You) releases “waste” paper DATA to a waste firm to be recycled (Securely or not), under Data Protection Law you have released personal data to an Organisation who may not be a Data Processor and the waste firm may understand it as you (The Data Controller) has actually releases waste material (Paper material) for recycling. In the case of a data breach occurring here who do you feel will be at fault and who will receive the fines of up to 20 Million Euro, yes your correct, it will be you The Data Controller.

So when you are deciding upon what paper shred service to implement within your business, it is important to understand that you need a Data Processing Firm to destroy that data for you. If an Organisation is for example offering secure onsite paper shredding or secure offsite paper shredding they need to acknowledge that it is Data that they are processing for you.

For more information upon Data Protection and how to protect your business please contact one of our helpful team at;

info@securityinshredding.com

Security in Shredding

Top Tips; Why use a clean desk policy? (Onsite paper destruction)

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Off site document shredding, offsite document shredding, off site document destruction, offsite document destruction, shredding Ireland, Onsite paper destruction, offsite shredding service Ireland, off site paper shredding service Ireland, offsite paper shredding service Ireland

Why? (Clean Desk Policy & Document Shredding)

This is simple, if you do not have a clean desk policy and complete either onsite paper destruction or use an offsite paper shredding service you are increasing the amount of risk that your Organisation is subject to.

New Regulation (Encourage Onsite Paper Destruction)

With the introduction of The New General Data Protection Regulation this year, Organisations failing to appropriately manage their waste paper data and go on to experience a data breach can be subject to fines of up to 20 Million Euro in 2018.

With that said, the importance for Organisations to have appropriate procedures in place for waste document destruction has become a leading factor for senior management today. Examples of such systems would be an Offsite document shredding service, an offsite document destruction service, an onsite document destruction service or in-house paper shredding Ireland.

A Clean Desk Policy helps protect your Organisation, your clients and your reputation amongst the general public. Within all Organisations there is data the is “Sensitive in Nature” and most business activities require confidentiality. With everyone in the office having contact with certain information it is essential for them to protect that data from unauthorized access. Your Clean Desk Policy will help reduce the risk of information leaking from your Organisation and increase the overall data security making sure all unneeded information enters your offsite paper shredding service Ireland.

In addition to overall security through ensuring all waste paper is destroyed through your offsite document shredding service, studies have shown that when employees are in a clean work environment their work efficiency increases. This productivity increase will translate to your customers increasing their peace of mind and in turn potnetially increasing your client numbers.

When a client is aware of your procedures they will increase their trust in your Organisation as they know that no data will be left unattended and all data no longer required will be securely destroyed through your off site paper shredding service Ireland.

This is the third and final part of our three-part blog on constructing and implementing your clean desk policy. For more information upon Clean Desk Policies please contact one of our team at Security in Shredding, we are happy to be of help with this serious topic of Data Protection.

Contact info@securityinshredding.com

Security in Shredding

Top Tips; Implementing a clean desk policy (Secure document destruction Ireland)

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Security in Shredding

During the implementation process it is important to have a clear confidential document shredding policy in place whether it is an onsite paper destruction system, a mobile paper shredding system, an off site shredding service or in-house shredding service the options are there to ensure compliance with Data Protection Legislation.

Our advice!

Your Clean Desk Policy must be put in writing

It is a good idea to clearly communicate the policy to all staff who are responsible for managing their confidential document shredding and management of their documents. We advise that you inform employees in writing as to how to follow your policy in addition to informing them why it is important to your Organisation. As Organisations deal with varying levels of sensitive information it is important to inform them as to the consequences if any member fails to comply with the policy and manage their onsite paper destruction effectively and securely.

Provide secure storage

(Data awaiting destruction through your mobile paper shredding service)

If you communicate your clean desk policy to all employees, you are on the right track for effective confidential document destruction management. One important factor to consider is the provision of secure storage containers. You cannot have a successful policy in place if your staff do not have anywhere available to them to store their sensitive documents that await the secure document destruction process. This point directly covered in the Data Protection Legislation in order to keep data safe and secure.

Secure document destruction Ireland, confidential document destruction, confidential document shredding, paper shredding Ireland, on site paper destruction Ireland, onsite paper destruction Ireland, mobile paper shredding, mobile paper shredding Ireland, off site shredding service Ireland

Encourage electronic data Vs paper data usage

When staff are encouraged to use electronic copies vs printing hard paper copies of information while working, your Organisation will benefit. You will reduce your requirement for confidential document shredding within your office, reducing your business costs, helping the environment while also increasing overall data security.

Routinely complete full data back-ups.

This point is important for all business not only to maintain a Clean Desk Policy. However, when encouraging staff to complete their duties through electronic data forms to reduce the mobile paper shredding burden, it is essential to have an effective data backup system in place.

Finally, begin your communication from The Top!!

This Clean Desk Policy has to be complied with and understood to be serious. If senior management do not follow the policy and continue to have paper pilling up and not routinely destroying their documents through the onsite paper shredding service, why would any other employees?

So make sure to get full agreement from all senior management to ensure a successful policy implementation.

This is part two of a three-part blog providing information upon constructing, implementing and justifying your Clean Desk Policy. For any further information upon the Clean Desk Policy please contact one of our helpful team to go through the details and answer any possible queries you may have.

Contact: info@securityinshredding.com

Security in Shredding

Creating a Clean Desk Policy (Document Shredding Service)

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Before we go into the specifics of your Document shredding services Ireland whether you are receiving an Onsite shredding service Ireland or allocating staff for shredding documents it is good to be familiar with a Clean Desk Policy and how to implement it successfully.

What is a Clean Desk Policy?

Well it is exactly what it says on your Data Protection Tin. It is an information security policy where all staff are to maintain a clean desk environment. We are all too used to a scenario of coming and going to the printer, taking notes from meetings, answering phone calls and responding to emails and before you know it your office desk has sensitive documents pilling up. We do not always place the importance of onsite destruction of that data into our busy days and we often tend to prioritise other activities.

Well with the introduction of New Data Protection Legislation increasing fines up to 20 MILLION EURO the priority for document shredding services to be in place has become No. 1, whether it is an onsite shredding service or an onsite paper destruction system implemented it simply has to be done and done correctly.

Document shredding services, shredding documents, on site paper destruction, onsite paper destruction, On site shredding service, Onsite shredding service

How to create the Clean Desk Policy (Onsite paper shredding)

It is recommended that all staff are made aware of the clean desk policy and the importance for maintaining their tidy environment and using your on site shredding service to get rid of unwanted and unneeded documents.

We at Security in Shredding constantly advice our clients to use our Triple “S” method for creating their clean desk policy successfully.

SCHEDULE your Day!!

First thing in the morning, all employees are to plan their day and/or make any needed amendments from planning made the previous day. Just keep things that are required on your desk and anything unneeded should be segregated and destroyed through your onsite shredding service. It will only take a few minutes but an accurate schedule is invaluable.

Keep SAFE/SECURE!!

Never leave your desk with sensitive paper data left out. Most will have to leave their desks at some point during their day to fulfill their duties but whenever you do, file away anything no longer required for that day and securely destroy anything that is no longer needed at all. It is important to securely destroy the unneeded material through an onsite shredding service and receive your certifications of compliance.

SECURE SHRED!!

It is amazing how paper will pile up, just ask anyone who has completed end of year paper shredding clear outs. With this in mind, do not let paper that is no longer required to enter long term storage, whether that storage is in a filing cabinet, drawer of your desk of in a pile beside your PC, always make certain to destroy the paper with a document shredding service or an onsite paper shredding service.

For more information upon our Clean Desk Policy and tips as to how to create one please contact one of our team, we are always here to help with your Data Protection concerns.

Contact www.info@securityinshredding.com

Save

Security in Shredding

Benefits of Shredding Documents On Site

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Security in Shredding

Shredding documents is a highly beneficial process to protect your data within businesses and organisations. A reputable shredding service will shred your documents on-site to better suit your data destruction process.

Shredding paper on-site gives peace of mind. It offers security and reassurance to organisations. An organisation can in fact nominate a representative to view the destruction through a monitor on the side of the truck. Either system ensures that ALL DATA is shredded BEFORE leaving a site.

All material is destroyed beyond recognition.

On Site Shredding Benefits:

We supply the highest standard, most efficient mobile shredding machine on the Irish market.

This system includes the supply of secure wheelie bins and a regular call-out service to our customers. Our operators do not see or touch any documents before they are shredded. The output of the shredding machine is 2.5 tonnes per hour, the equivalent to a 240 litre wheelie bin per minute. As a result, we use the minimum amount of time while providing our customers with the most professional and efficient service possible.

Security Shredding Eliminates Risk:

Prevent information leaks and breaches of security
Reduces your risk from improperly discarded documents
Reduces risk of identity theft
Reduces your risk of recovery
Reduces your storage costs
Saving employee time from document shredding
Minimum time used for speedy efficient shredding service
Affordable and cost effective
Become an active business in protecting the environment

“Scheduled”, “On Call” or “Clear Out”

We provide a variety of services to better suit your needs or destruction process. We can shred your documents on a specific date available. Clients can call our trained staff and make an appoint for our truck to come out to your base of operation.

Or a once off large shred of Clear out shredding is also available. Due to the efficiency of our on site mobile shredding units we have the capability to destruct high volumes of material efficiently. This service can also be scheduled by contacting our staff.

Call Us Today

At Security In Shredding we provide more than just a paper shredding service. We shred a number of items and old or unused items. For more information on our shredding services, please get i contact with one of our staff at; info@securityinshredding.com

Security in Shredding

Security In Shredding Blog

Security In Shredding Blog

Category Archives: Data Protection

10 Tips for protecting sensitive data in your Organisation

Ten Top Tips for protecting sensitive data within your Organisation;

Do’s and Don’ts on Social Media to protect your info

DO’s…

Don’ts….

Top tips; How to protect your IDENTITY from ID Theft.

Easy tips;

Do not provide personal info over the telephone

Failing to destroy old hard drives and computers

Protect your driver’s license

Protect your children’s personal information.

Secure your mailbox

Shredding paper Ireland

Phishing emails

Secure Data Processing – What is it?

Ireland Businesses – Top Six threats to Data Privacy

Why is waste office paper not actual waste? (Onsite Paper Destruction)

Top Tips; Why use a clean desk policy? (Onsite paper destruction)

Why? (Clean Desk Policy & Document Shredding)

New Regulation (Encourage Onsite Paper Destruction)

Top Tips; Implementing a clean desk policy (Secure document destruction Ireland)

Our advice!

Your Clean Desk Policy must be put in writing

Provide secure storage

(Data awaiting destruction through your mobile paper shredding service)

Encourage electronic data Vs paper data usage

Routinely complete full data back-ups.

Finally, begin your communication from The Top!!

Creating a Clean Desk Policy (Document Shredding Service)

What is a Clean Desk Policy?

How to create the Clean Desk Policy (Onsite paper shredding)

SCHEDULE your Day!!

Keep SAFE/SECURE!!

SECURE SHRED!!