In today’s world, it is of utmost importance that the security and privacy of your business details, accounts and staff are a top priority.
You’ve all seen the films where some dodgy gangster or private detective goes through the trash looking for juicy information. Your trash is also prone to theft after it has been collected by the refuse company and dumped. This is commonly known as ‘dumpster diving’ or ‘skipping.’
The modern identity thief will be looking a vast array of treasures including utility bills, expired credit cards, bank accounts, birth dates, email addresses, names and addresses, loan account numbers, passwords, PINS, social security numbers and signatures to name but a few.
It is not uncommon to find these important documents just screwed up and thrown in the bin. This is no different to letting a criminal into your home or business and giving them free reign to your account or safe.
So what should you do? Simple: make sure your confidential data is destroyed. The shredder has been around since 1909 and has become a must-have office product, but surprisingly, after over 100 years in circulation you’d have expected the shredder to be a common household item.
Shredders range in size and price but all basically do the same thing, either cut, tear or mash-up your sensitive documents into unreadable strips or pieces, home paper shredders are extremely useful in the fight against identity theft.
There are six security levels in paper shredders referred to as DIN standards. DIN 3 being the European standard that most shredders on the market meet.
Level 1 = 12 mm strips (low Security - General -DIN 3)
Level 2 = 6 mm strips (Low to Medium Security - Internal -DIN 2)
Level 3 = 2 mm strips (Medium Security - Confidential DIN 3)
Level 4 = 2 x 15 mm particles (Medium to High Security - Commercially Sensitive DIN 4)
Level 5 = 0.8 x 12 mm particles (High Security - Top Secret or Classified DIN 5)
Level 6 = 0.8 x 4 mm particles (Highest Security - Top Secret or Classified DIN 6)
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