Category Archives: Off Site Shredding

Paper Shredding Benefits; Environmental & More

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Improve Office Environment Usage

There are many Benefits of Shredding and one reason is the environmental benefit. There are more reasons but in our lives, we use paper extensively in one way or another to record data. Even with the increased use of digital devices paper is still widely used throughout business.

Documents and papers used in companies lose their relevance with time and they are no longer required and one option for getting rid of them is to insert them into general recycling streams. But this is not an effective solution and creates data breach hazards as more and more paper ends up in untrained and unaccountable hands.

The other disadvantage of such an arrangement is that paper and documents used in a company contains highly sensitive information about the clients, customers and the company itself. If manipulative individuals gain access to them from a recycling stream, this can result in company’s secrets getting leaked to its competitors putting its survival at stake. Similarly the confidential customer information may get compromised resulting in identity theft and other damaging outcomes for the customers.

confidential shredding, clean desk policy

To avoid such scenarios, documents need to be destructed in a safe and secure manner. A company can achieve this by hiring services of a Paper shredding Ireland Service which will not only destruct documents securely, but will also recycle them. So the company can use them again in the form of sanitary rolls and cardboard packaging.

Confidential Shredding Service; On site & Off Site

A paper shredding service has security screened and trained men, equipment and transport facilities required for the secure destruction of paper. Such a service provides both on site as well as off site destruction facilities. For destroying papers on site, the service would bring its men and equipment to the company’s premises and destroying them there. Its personnel would maintain confidentiality and security of data and information contained in papers strictly as deeds of confidentiality are signed in order to carry out their operations. They have got the latest equipment which can shred vast amount of documents fast, efficiently and beyond reconstruction.

Security In Shredding on site service

Off site data destruction involves moving the documents away from the premises to some other place and destroying them there and recycling it. The paper shredding service would also provide an auditing facility, so the company can remain assured about confidentiality being implemented during the destruction process.

If you as a company owner or representative want your data to be destructed safely, properly and efficiently for protecting your important information contained in the documents, you should hire a reputed and reliable document destruction service.

By getting your paper destructed and recycled from the service you will not only be able to save your costs, but can also protect your company’s reputation as your sensitive data would not be falling into wrong hands.

Please visit our site for more information and contact us if you have any enquiries regarding our confidential shredding service.

Paper Shredding Limerick & The Importance of Uniforms

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Security in Shredding Data Protection Law

Our data processing team operate a confidential shredding service in uniform throughout all our Limerick based clients. Uniforms also exist outside the workplace, Limerick GAA (the shannonsiders) iconic green jersey can also be considered a uniform. The reasons for wearing a uniform do have their benefits which are listed below.

Uniforms for Corporate Branding

Having a distinctive uniforms in the colours associated with the company can assist in the establishment of an impression in the mind of the consumer. Security in Shredding’s uniforms help to identify its employee’s as individuals who are associated with it and its services, and it helps to brand the company by distinguishing it from the competition. Consistency in employee’s appearance can create a positive impression on the customer and contribute to the projection of the Security in Shredding’s corporate image.

Uniforms for Portraying Competence

Uniforms can enable customers to identify employees eliminating the possibility of a customer mistakenly asking a member of the public for help. Employees wearing a uniform encourage confidence in the client by portraying the individual is a professional with service knowledge and an eagerness to help. A uniform puts the force of the corporate reputation behind the individual, making him look reliable and trustworthy as a company representative.

Uniforms to Promote Security

Just as a Gardaí or Army uniform identifies an officer, Security in Shredding’s uniform identifies its employees who are out onsite conducting a service call or delivery to a client’s premises.

Uniforms to Eliminate Dress Codes

Having a compulsory requirement for Security in Shredding’s employees to wear its uniform eliminates the need for creating and enforcing a dress code. Enforcing a dress code can lead to hard feelings on the part of employees who are told that their attire is not appropriate for the workplace.

Overall it is important to Security in Shredding that its employees are always dressed in uniform for their job roles and are neat and tidy at all times. Security in Shredding provide a professional and secure data destruction service nationwide.

secure document destruction limerick.

Your data security is our priority. We operate throughout Limerick and Limerick county. We also provide on site shredding in all major cites in Ireland. For more information on a secure document shredding service, please visit our site for more information.

Why Company’s Need To Address Improper Document & Data Disposal

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data destruction and collection service

Secure document shredding specialists deal with physical and digital data on a regular bases. How we handle this data is important to ensure confidentially. Confidential shredding and data protection go hand in hand to prevent data breaches occurring.

It is widely known that employees and hackers are biggest cause of data breaches. There have being high profile hacking cases involving employees inappropriately clicking on links that  permits the hackers access to the organisations network and software system.

In order to have an appropriate confidential document and data disposal system in place, you should firstly contact a service provider whom has ample experience in the industry with a 100% clean track record (i.e. an occurrence of zero data breaches). Such a Data Service Provider will be able to answer all your queries and concerns regarding how to implement a secure and efficient document management system – all the way to end of life documents as well as in-house training of staff and policies and procedures. “At the end of the day, you are relying on employees to manage confidential documents in a secure and confidential manner.”

privacy-data-security

In order for one to have piece of mind, a training programme should be established for the induction and on-going training (in-house) for the organisations employees. When the employees understand the importance of efficient and accurate Data Management and Data Protection Legislation; it minimises the risk of a data breach.

When the data reaches its end of life, it needs to be securely disposed of. This is where a certified professional Data Processor like Security in Shredding provides (at the clients choice) onsite and/or offsite data destruction. A company such as Security in Shredding are specialists in the entire area of Data Management. They have an unblemished record and provide a professional, certified and recognised data destruction services.

In order for an organisation to maximise compliance in the workplace, proper appropriate disposal of information has to be made easily accessible for the employee.

Security in Shredding do not recommend placing a recycling bin in close proximity to a printer of copying machine for example as employees can easily discard the unwanted copies or data into the recycling bin. However, Security in Shredding can implement secure lockable consoles throughout the building in specific locations as requested by the organisation and also in close proximity to the copying or printer machines.

If you wish to have a conversation with any of our Data Consultant Specialists, you can pick up the phone and dial +67 24848 or email us at info@securityinshredding.com.

Organising Paper, Sensitive Data & Clear Out Shredding

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clear out paper shredding

Secure Document Shredding specialists are recommended for large quantity clear out shredding. That being said it, happens to the best of us, we get a document and say “I’ll deal with it later” and set the document aside. We go back to our work and another document will be given to us or another one is added or set aside. It doesn’t take long before a pile starts to build and the less likely that pile gets dealt with. When we decide to deal with it, the pile has become a more daunting task to clear

If the pile is not organised there is a danger of confidential or secure documents being lost in the pile and data breaches can occur if gotten into the wrong hands.

Ideally setting up an organisation plan before the clutter starts to build makes it easier to implement this process. Clutter for one is an eye sore. Its messy, not organised and can cause stress to you and your office

The dread comes from knowing you need to deal with it, but not necessarily knowing exactly how to deal with the quantity and feeling overwhelmed by what feels like an enormous task.

A single piece of paper is easy to deal with but this post is more to deal with when a pile has accumulated into clutter stack.

Knowing and separating your confidential documents is a starting point. View our What to Shred list and see what documents can contain sensitive data.

Daily & Weekly Paperwork Routine Is Essential To Long-Term Paper Organisation & Reducing Risk Of Data Breach

Actions such as: (1) bin it right away; (2) delegate it to someone else; (3) file it for future reference (meaning no action is currently needed with this paper); or (4) keep it to take some type of action on.

Examples of papers that come into your office that require you to take action include invoices, tax forms, bank statements etc.

This type of confidential paper is often left aside to be worked or filled in at a later stage, creating a “to do pile.” The longer this pile is left to accumulate the bigger the pile becomes creating more stress and clutter. While also being a security risk as a data breach could occur if these documents came into the wrong hands.

Adopting a “Clean Desk Policy” is a good step to deal with clutter and prevent piles from building. Working on documents on a daily basis is a good first step. Do a little everyday will be a lot in the long run. The daily routine will become a weekly routine.

When you combine the daily and weekly routines together the total system for paper organisation will be complete.

What To Do In The Weekly Paperwork Session

The weekly paperwork session is not complicated. First, choose a day that suits your schedule. Doesn’t matter what time or day you choose as long as you do it consistently.

Once you’ve decided on the day, all you do is grab the stack of paperwork that has accumulated over the course of the week on the day you’ve chosen, and now you sit down and tackle it, one piece of paper at a time.

Do the paper work in batches. Deal with enough confidential documents that reduces the pile. It is still business as usual when dealing with the pile, paper is still going to be added but again as long as the pile is getting smaller than bigger is what we desire.

You should consider doing the following tasks during your weekly paperwork session:

  • Pay bills
  • Make phone calls that are necessary about bills, or other information that comes in during the week
  • Reconcile your bank account, confirming what checks cleared during the past week and that all deposits are credited to the account, etc.
  • Make any necessary money transfers between bank accounts.
  • Confirm everything appears to be working normally as it relates to automatic withdrawals and automatic bill pay for your accounts.
  • De clutter, organize and file that week’s receipts.
  • File paid bills and other filing that has accumulated during the week.
  • Deal with any other documents confidential or otherwise.
  • Adding dates to your calendar, both from papers or emails you’ve received.

These tasks deal with paper data but digital data is equally as important to deal with. Responding to emails and other on line services should also be part of your document organisation schedule.

It doesn’t matter how big a pile has accumulated, a paperwork session is about good habit forming done regularly each week.

Once paper organisation habit has formed, it creates a better management of document life cycle and spot potential data breaches and mistakes in the documents.

Off Site Shredding Service Can Handle Large Quantities

Clutter can be dealt with on you desk and around you. There is also an option of availing of a Clear out Shredding Service. Old or archived documents that no longer serve a purpose that may be in a clutter pile can easily be dealt with by our services.

Security In Shredding offers both On Site Document Shredding and Off Site Document Shredding Ireland. We can handle large quantities of paper and shred them securely. If you want that pile removed quickly and remove the data breach risk immediately,

please contact our team today and visit our site. We operate our Confidential Shredding in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork areas and the rest of Ireland.

7 Questions Dealing With Sensitive/Personal Data

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privacy-data-security

We live in a digital information age and how this information in gathered and viewed is through mobile or electronic devices. On site document shredding services will handle your paper data and also digital media to be destroyed securely.

Cyber liability, cyber security and information governance are terms that managers and directors are aware of due to high-profile data security breaches in recent events (“Panama papers”). Mason Hayes & Curran covers the critical questions these companies need to be asking.

In an increasingly interconnected world, with the expansion of the internet and development of the internet of things (IoT), there has been a corresponding increase in the vulnerability of information systems to attack.

The Cyber Security for Directors app with the Institute of Directors in Ireland has released an app to help heads of companies to understand their responsibilities regarding digital data security.

The app details the various types of cyber liability and cyber risks, while drawing together the key areas for directors to consider. It also outlines both proactive and reactive strategies to manage cyber security. The app is available on Android and iOS.

Technology has rapidly changed over the past 20 years and continues to grow. People’s reliance on digital devices both for storage and transmission of data, is making data breaches all the more damaging to organisations. How a mobile device operates both the front end (you) and back end(server) is not that transparent unless you have a good understanding of data transfers.

Knowing how this works is not essential but can make it easer to understand where the pitfalls lie within a device will benefit data security.

Where there is liability, there is a corresponding responsibility for that liability. As the duties of directors come increasingly under the microscope, it is clearly in the interests of directors to ensure that they understand their responsibilities in this area.

Below, we have outlined the key questions that directors should ask in relation to the collection and processing of data

1. Are we being transparent?

Data must be obtained fairly and the company must be transparent about the reason the data is being collected and the purpose for which the data will be used. Data must not then be put to a further incompatible use.

2. Do we have consent?

Consent is usually, but not always, required. If the information is non-sensitive, there can be implied consent. If the information gathered is sensitive (such as relating to an individual’s health, race, sex life, religious beliefs or trade union membership) then there must be explicit consent.

3. How long are we retaining data for?

Personal data can only be stored for as long as is necessary. There should be no retention of data ‘just in case’.

4. Are we collecting unnecessary data?

Data should only be collected if necessary. There are PR risks to any company if data is collected and stored unnecessarily.

5. Are we keeping the data secure?

You must have appropriate security measures to protect any data you are storing. Take into consideration the state of the technology you are using, the cost of implementation and the nature of the data and potential harm if a breach occurs.

6. Are we giving the data to third parties?

Are the third parties controllers or processors? In other words, on whose behalf will they use the data? If they are controllers, you will likely need consent for collection. If they are processors, special written contract terms are required.

7. Is the data leaving Europe?

If collected data remains within the European Economic Area (EEA), transfer issues do not arise. If the data is to be transferred outside the EEA then safeguards are required unless it is an approved country, eg Canada.

Check out www.mhc.ie for more information on Tech law.

Industrial paper shredding and media destruction are performed securely and confidentially by our team at Security In Shredding. For more information on our shredding or destruction services please contact us.

 

Summer Holidays? Tips to Maintain Data Security When You Work

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data security when on holiday

Who doesn’t enjoy a holiday or time off. Scheduling a paper shredding service before the holiday or time off is recommended. This will help give a piece of mind that you are protecting your data and let you enjoy your holiday.

In today’s world employees pack their work tablets and have their smartphones with them when going on vacation/ holiday.

There are a number of employees who don’t like to fall behind in their work and like to stay connected wherever they travel to. This is possible due to the ever improving technology of wireless internet, smartphones, laptops, and tablets. These technologies have made it increasingly easier to work from home and from the side of the pool!!

But organisations may forget the importance of data security regarding these mobile devices. Many organisations have policies in place where by employees BYOD (bring your own device) and this permits the employee to use one single device for both work and personal purposes.

The upside is while employees remain productive outside of the office 24/7, the downside is that they can access corporate data from anywhere. The negative impact this will have is it increases the risk of data breach incidents and has created a whole new area of information security policies.

Security in Shredding have a few tips to ensure the confidential business information employee’s work on outside of the office remains secure;

  • Implement a Bring Your Own Device Policy and by doing so you are creating a culture in your organisation.
  • Implement a schedule regarding the organisations protection software whereby on set dates throughout the year the software is updated.
  • “Provide employee training and regular refresher training regarding information security best practises outside the office.”
  • Prior to leaving the office for a vacation, ensure to only take documents that are extremely necessary regardless of a hard copy of digital copy.
  • Only under extreme circumstances should you print confidential documents from electronic means outside the office.
  • If one must print off a hard copy, ensure that all documents are securely destroyed. At mentioned earlier scheduling a paper shredding or bag collection may be needed.

You can speak with a member of Security in Shredding’s Data Management Consultants for further information. Our mobile paper shredding service is available for scheduling.

 

8 Benefits For Responsible Document Shredding

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confidential shredding, clean desk policy

At Security In Shredding our mobile paper shredding units are available and comply with data protection laws. Outsourcing an industrial shredding service will ensure your data security is maintained and securely destroyed.

Businesses, organisations and Institutions and people alike have fallen victim to identity theft and scams because of loss of information that a person used off of a stolen document. A person or employee must follow a correct procedure in the way they destroy paperwork with any kind of information on it (sensitive or not) in order to protect their customers. The list below are eight benefits that happen when a company performs document shredding.

8 Benefits of Responsible Document Shredding

  1. Document shredding gives company owners and customers a peace knowing that their information has been destroyed the right way.
  1. Shredding responsibly gives people the option of having the process taken care of by a third party. In some cases there is no need to buy expensive paper shredders if there is a company that can come to your job site and take care of the process for you. Most office shredders do not provide a secure data destruction.
  1. Shredding and then recycling paperwork keeps the landfills from filling up sooner than it should. Paper is one of the most used materials in circulation. Just about every house and company throws out paper on a daily basis. By shredding paper landfills will be around for trash that cannot be recycled for a longer period of time.
  1. In some cases shredding of personal information keeps a company compliant with Data Protection Laws in Ireland. The Data Protection Commissioner provides useful information about how to destroy or handle personal information.
  1. It gives customers and business owners an unspoken bond of trust knowing that they are looking at for the well fare of each other.
  1. From an environmental standpoint document shredding protects trees from being used for new paper products.
  1. Document shredding also provides a safe and clean way of waste disposal. A clean desk policy can help reduce having a bunch of loose papers sitting around the office taking up space.
  1. The process gives you the joy of knowing that you are doing your part to protect the environment and the personal lives of your customers. Companies that go out of the way to protect their customers will find loyalty and more sales because they are a trusted established business.

Security and Compliance are important words for us at Security In Shredding. Document shredding services are available both on site and off site. For more information please visit our site.

What To Keep & What To Shred: Document Retention Policy

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Data Retention & data destruction

At Security In Shredding, document shredding is done with confidentiality and security is paramount when carrying out data destruction service. Data breaches occur when people are negligent or not aware of a breach. The most recent high profile story being the “Panama Papers” leak.

The Panama Papers is the latest mega data breach where millions of confidential documents from a Panamanian law firm were leaked, exposing offshore bank accounts – and possibly tax havens – for wealthy clients.

In light of this recent breach “I think we need to change the fundamental design of the way each and every document is created and managed,” –  commented Bill Anderson of cyber security company OptioLabs, in a cnet.com story about the Panama Papers.

While there are many aspects to data security, a sound document retention policy is one of the most important. Knowing what confidential documents to keep and which ones to permanently destroy should be of concern to everyone. Maintaining a clean desk policy will also help minimise the risk of confidential documents getting lost with other data.

This high profile case may sound like it won’t happen to you but the chances are that the data breach occurred by improper use or destruction of a data. All it takes is one wrong move for all your data to be accessed.

Below are some document retention policy guidelines to help keep your information secure.

  • Information Audits: Use audits to identify the types of documents the business produces, and to create an inventory and keep it updated.
  • How Long To Keep Tax Records? There are two parts to data retention: how long documents will be useful to the business, and how long they must be retained based on government and industry requirements. Checking with Revenue.ie on how long to retain your tax returns.
  • Fines – either way: While it’s law to keep certain documents, if you retain a record for too long you might also expose yourself to litigation risks and fines. Like most privacy laws, Data Protection Act compliance stipulates the record must be securely disposed of when the official retention period is over.
  • Emails: Records are paper files, digital documents, and correspondence including emails. According to wired.com, the Panama Papers leak included more than 4.8 million emails (as well as 3 million database files and 2.1 million PDF’s). If emails aren’t part of an important business or legal use or not subject to regulatory compliance, delete them within the appropriate time frame.
  • Controlled Access: Index all documents for easy retrieval. Store in a secure, locked location and/or in a password protected file. Control who can access sensitive documents and logging when this information has being accessed. Storing unwanted documents increases the risk of a Data Breach and adds to clutter.
  • Secure disposal: The only acceptable way to discard paper or digital documents when they are no longer needed is to completely destroy them. Industrial Shredding companies can dispose large quantity of documents, and outsourcing eliminates risk. Partner with a reputable shredding company that has secure chain of custody processes for information destruction. A Certificate of Destruction will document compliance and should be issued after every shred.

At Security In Shredding data security is equally important as confidential data destruction. An on site service or off site service is available throughout Ireland. Please visit our site for more information.

4 Reasons Why A Paper Shredding Service Is Needed

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Security In Shredding on site service

Paper shredding or document shredding is vital for protecting confidential and sensitive information / data. Most of us create and keep files with sensitive data; examples of which are bills, financial statements, marketing plans, employee files, and even delivery packages. Industrial shredding services are used by Government offices, non-commercial organizations, small and large businesses, and private citizens. These document shredding specialists will shred the documents securely beyond recognition.

1. Compliance With The Law

We all have the right to protection of personal information. The Data Protection Commissioner was put in place to enforce the obligations of businesses to protect data. Failure to comply, as there are laws that penalize improper disposal of documents with sensitive and confidential content. Businesses and Organizations that hold personal data but neglect to protect it face financial and legal consequences. Employers for example use paper shredding services to get rid of employee files which are no longer in use.

2. Positive Recycling Habit

Reducing the amount of paper used in an office is a good reduction method, while reduction also ensures that there is less of a chance data breaches from misplaced documents. The paper and documents shredded by a mobile paper shredding service will be put into a compost heap and reused at a later stage. This creates a good recycling method for your business and benefit the environment overall.

Data Protection, Paper Shredding, limeirck paper shredding

3. Preventing Identity Theft

Without shredding or destroying documents before disposing them, Identity theft is a possibility. All it takes is someone to simply look into a bin and grab what they can. With data now widely available is now more of an issue. Any data is far better shredded before disposal, all it takes is one piece of information in the wrong hands for a data breach to occur. These breaches are damaging for a business or organisations reputation.

clear out paper shredding

4. Eliminating Clutter & Hazards

Papers occupies space and cause clutter and increase the risks of fire. Once a document has served its purpose, offices need to constantly get rid of these papers as part of an organization-wide records management system. A paper shredding policy within an organisation for when to retain and destroy documents will help an employee to take care of the proper disposal and destruction of paper documents. However shredding services are available throughout Ireland and hiring a industrial paper shredding company is more cost effective.

Document shredding is important part of business practice. Mobile paper shredding services are available. Along with an awareness to data breaches and compliance with the law will ensure data security.

Security In Shredding provide high quality secure shredding services. They provide a Confidential Waste Disposal service both on site and off shredding available. If you are in the Limerick area then please visit our Limerick page for more details.

5 Best Practises Regarding Document Management

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paper-vs-digital

Paper shredding is important practice for businesses in Ireland. A confidential shredding specialist will remove unwanted document and destroy them in a secure manner while also help remove clutter from the office.

Offices should avoid having files, documents and detailed paper information scattered on top of filing cabinets and desks. In every organisation regardless in size, it has a responsibility to manage the information it handles in a secure and organized way. It should be a priority or each and every organisation to minimise the risk of a data breach;

Security in Shredding have outlined below the top five best practises for Document Management whom they encourage every business to follow;

  1. Indexing & Filing:

    An organised document management system has an effective and current index system based on the file contents and compliance requirements. The organisation should manages file creation in an efficient manner whereby no duplication or irrelevant copies are filed and records retention periods are clearly labelled on the files or storage boxes. Security in Shredding would recommend implementing an electronic file tracking system to manage where documents are in their life cycle, and show whether documents are active, archived, or ready for disposal.

  2. Secure Storage:

    Sensitive data stored on hard paper data and e-data should be securely stored and protected either in locked cabinets or a locked room. Many organisations produce a substantial volume of paper as a result from employees conducting their duties, making notes, printing of emails, discussion notes, to do lists – the list goes on. It is just as vital that this paper production is securely stored in lockable consoles when the employee has not longer got a requirement for it. Security in Shredding encourage organisations to implement a Shred-all policy whereby all paper produced in the offices that is no longer required is placed in the secure consoles for destruction at a scheduled date.

  1. Limited Access:

    It is vitally important that limited access is maintained with hand-picked specific employees having the secure access to the file sharing system the organisation has in place. Security in Shredding recommend using a system that uses authentication and password protection to control access and track and manage who can view them.

  2. Retention and Destruction Schedule:

    All documents and files should be clearly labelled by what they contain, retention period, and end of life date. When documents reach their end of life they must be securely destroyed. Security in Shredding recommend outsourcing the destruction of all or any sensitive data to a certified professional whom are registered data processors. Also the Data Destruction Service Provider should provide a chain of custody from the time the material is placed in the secure lockable consoles to the secure removal of documents for shredding. The service provider should be able to provide certification for their ability to shred the sensitive confidential data to Shred No. 6 of the EN 15713 European Shredding Standard. A Data Processing Certificate should be issued post every service delivery.

  1. Staff Training:

    It is imperative that all employees are trained and fully understand the importance of Data Protection. Security in Shredding recommend every organisation to employee a Data Compliance Officer to enforce information security policy and ensure all aspects of Data Protection Legislation are adhered to.

If anyone has any queries regarding any of the important points illustrated, please do not hesitate to contact us to speak to our Data Consultants.

Our confidential document shredding services are available throughout Ireland. We regularly operate in the Limerick, Galway, Dublin and Cork areas.

Please visit our site for more information: https://www.securityinshredding.com/