Five tips for Data Protection Compliance

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With the introduction of The General Data Protection Regulation this year it is essential for Organisations to know that they are complying with the legislation. The first step in compliance is awareness and this article will give a brief overview of some tips to take into account to protect your Organisation. From data consent to third party data processing such as a confidential paper shredding service, I aim to guide you in the right direction.

A. Consent

Always obtain the data subjects consent prior to holding or using their personal data. All forms both physical and web-based which are designed to gather personal information should contain a statement detailing what the information is to be used for.

B. Sensitive data

When dealing with sensitive personal (race, political opinion, mental health etc.) data additional measures should be in place to ensure the security of the data. When this data has reached its end of life always securely destroy the data through a paper shredding service.

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C. Individual rights

Be aware of individual’s rights when dealing with information held upon them. If preparing reports always be aware that individuals have the right to see all personal data held about them which also includes emails and informal notes that have not gone through your document shredding service in place.

D. Review files

Data should only be retained when and where absolutely necessary. Securely disposal of the data once it is no longer required through an onsite paper shredding service and/or an offsite shredding service with a data processing firm and under contract. Establish and record regular reviews of the data in your control.

E. Secure disposal of records

When discarding waste data in paper format it is imperative to treat them confidentially. Never discard end of life data with conventional recycling streams. Waste paper data is not the same as general sorted office waste (SOW) before it is destroyed due to the fines and penalties attached to them for a breach. Always hire a professional paper shredding company to secure shred all documents and receive a certificate of data processing. The same applies to waste electronic data carriers such as hard-drives, always securely destroy them through a hard drive shredding service.

For any advice upon data protection and making your Organisation compliant please do not hesitate to contact one of our team through our website www.securityinshredding.com.

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Protecting your online privacy – Top tips (Part 2 of 2)

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As mentioned in our previous article, information in paper form can be destroyed through an onsite paper shredding service Ireland or an in-house onsite paper shredding facility.

Reputable paper shredding companies with the required certifications can also provide offsite document shredding services where your paper data is released to be destroyed under contract. The key points here are that the vendors providing the offsite paper shredding service have the required certifications and you have agreed under contract for the data to be processed which is the actual paper shredding process.

When talking about releasing personal paper files for offsite paper shredding the majority of people will always be concerned with whom they are giving the data to however when the data is in digital form and communicated through the internet the same level of caution does not always be applied.

Our first five tips to protect yourself online were;

  1. Do not give your info away inadvertently
  2. Use cookie management software
  3. Have a specific email account
  4. Do not share with unknown people
  5. Study privacy policies

In this article we will list our final five tips on protecting yourself online.

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#1.          Be aware of potential monitoring at work

In many Countries employees have little to no privacy protection from their employers. With this in mind, when discussing sensitive topics in email be sure of whom you are communicating to. Keep private data on your home network at home.

#2.          Be aware of rewards & prizes offered by sites.

More than likely these kind of sites are gathering information for direct marketing purposes. In this scenario your name and address s sold for marketing purposes.

#3.          Be conscious of your home computer security

If you home computer is set up on a DSL line that runs 24 hours be sure to turn off your computer when not using it. Many PCs will have poor security levels and system hackers will search for vulnerable computers and can invade them and get into your files and personal details.

#4.          Use encryption

Good encryption will utilise security codes that are difficult crack and protect your data. There are easy to use mail and file encryption services available out there. Hopefully all devices will come with security encryption built into their servers, until then, be aware and be safe.

#5.          Never reply to spammers

These Spam messages also known as unsolicited bulk email need to receive a response to tell their system that this email is being used. If you end up opening one of these messages check to see if there is anything in your outgoing box in case there is a return receipt attached to the mail. If you are getting spammed there are a great deal of filters and anti-spam services available out there.

Awareness if key, receive some education and proceed with caution are the best tips to have. Technology is every advancing and with it you also need to evolve, increase your knowledge and you will be in a safer position.

For more information on online security or confidential paper shredding service Ireland please contact one of our team on info@securityinshredding.com.

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Mobile paper shredding providers Security in Shredding go through Brexit and what it means for Data Protection and Privacy.

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Uncertainty is ever present when dealing with Data Protection and since the Brexit referendum there is undoubtedly an increased level of uncertainty. Many questions are circling relating to how will this Brexit decision impact data processors and data controllers across key sectors of the UK and Irish economy.

For example, will paper shredding Dublin and the related legislations be the same as that in London, or will secure document shredding Galway be subject to separate legislation as that in Manchester. Similar issues arise when multinational Companies that for example, receive confidential shredding Limerick at their Limerick location and also receive confidential shredding Belfast in their Belfast location, will there be discrepancies in the requirements for each location to be compliant with Data Protection Legislation?

EU & The Single Market

Harmonisation of laws throughout Europe has been one of the main aspects of the EU. The current regulations for protecting personal data within both Ireland and The UK which include secure document shredding derive from EU Law. The Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland and the Information Commissioner in the UK released a statement saying that the on-going 1998 Act will remain law post Brexit.

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General Data Protection Regulation (Divergence of the Law?)

In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation will come into effect. Unlike its predecessor the Data Protection Directive, the GDPR will be a cross region regulation that will apply directly to all EU member states.

With The UK no longer being a member of The EU the GDPR will not apply to it. With this in mind there are many questions relating to the future path for UK data protection rules. In areas such as data transfers, subject access requests and data erasure whether it be paper shredding or Hard-Drive destruction.

If the UK wishes to remain a central location for IT & Finance then it will seem that they will have to comply with The GDPR, additionally if they wish to join the European Economic Area it will need to adopt the GDPR.

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What does it mean?

In plan terms, it is likely to remain business as usual for the next 12 – 19 months and the exit period is expected to take up to 2 years which ends a couple of months after the GDPR is implemented.

In many views, the Brexit outcome is beneficial to Ireland relating to Data Protection. The Republic will be the only English speaking nation with the benefits of being part of the EU free movements of services, people, goods workers and personal data.

This means that businesses can structure their operations so as to only be subject to one single data protection authority such as The DPC.

The content of is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.

For more information please contact the Security in Shredding team.

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

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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…

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Keep all social apps updated, the latest versions will be up to date with all data protection risks at that current time.
  4. Edit your privacy settings on social media. Make sure your information is not being shared with strangers.
  5. 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….

  1. 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.
  2. Do not post mean and harmful posts online. It is good practice to post about other as you want them to post about you.
  3. 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

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

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.

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Our advice!

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

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  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

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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