Householders may be getting the message about not throwing out credit card slips or vital bits of personal information that could leave them at risk of identity fraud, but the same is not necessarily the case for businesses.
Under the 1998 Data Protection Act companies have an obligation to keep their customers’ and employees’ information safe or to destroy it securely, while the 2007 landfill directive has increased the pressure to recycle waste paper, making it even more important that they destroy documents before they leave the premises.
With companies generating more of such material and normally having greater assets that could be exploited, it’s essential that business owners have a system of destroying sensitive information and making sure staff know they should treat such documents as they would their own.
“A company’s most valuable asset is its data, from financial and customer records, personnel and payroll data to its marketing strategies,” says David Bowker, manager of Smurfit Kappa Shredding Services. “If this information is discarded carelessly it can easily fall into the wrong hands, with embarrassing and expensive consequences.”
Smurfit recommends the following steps to ensure your business minimises the risk of falling victim to identity fraud:
Manage your records
Implement an
effective information management system throughout your business process and
stick to it. Conduct an audit of your records to establish what you are keeping
and where, why you are keeping it and for how long. Then draft a document
retention and disposal policy and make sure it is followed
Control access
Separate sensitive
information, secure it in a safe place and only grant access to the people who
really need it
Inform your staff
If your staff
understand the dangers of identity theft and their legal obligations, they will
be far more careful. Make sure everyone is up-to-date and communicate your
document management policy to all your employees
Secure and green disposal
Once a document
has reached the end of its life and no longer needs to be retained, it must be
disposed of securely. Look for a BSIA-accredited company that can destroy your
information and recycle it securely, protecting both your company and the
environment
Witness destruction
If necessary you
should ask whether you can accompany the confidential waste to witness its
destruction first-hand
Certify destruction
Ensure you are given
a destruction certificate
