Secure shredding unwrapped

Secure shredding is essential for virtually all types of business, from SMEs to large corporations. That’s because every business produces confidential waste - and if you want to fully protect data belonging to you, your customers and your employees, secure shredding is vital. In this blog, we’ll explain exactly what secure shredding is, why it’s so important, and of course how Changeworks Confidential can help. What exactly is secure shredding? We’re glad you asked – secure shredding is the process of destroying any confidential documents that your business produces. While you might think putting documents through a shredder yourself will be enough to protect your sensitive information, be wary as this method comes with risks. If you dispose of confidential documents non-securely (e.g. in your normal recycling bin) they can still be accessed by anyone and, unless you have a secure cabinet in your office, everyone in the business will have access to it too. Plus, you won’t be granted a Certificate of Destruction if you shred your documents yourself, so you cannot prove to your customers that you are handling their data correctly and securely. Secure shredding is the only way to ensure you are completely protected – you either place your documents in a secure cabinet, seal a bag with a secure tag or place them in an archive box sealed with tape, and they are then collected and shredded, either on-site or off-site. We believe off-site shredding is more secure and better for the environment – you can find out more about this in our blog on the benefits of off-site shredding. But why is it so important? Secure shredding is crucial for a number of reasons. If you fail to securely destroy the confidential documents your business produces, you could break the regulations set out in the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and face a fine of up to 20 million euros (or 4% of your annual turnover) from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). That is a huge risk to take, and it’s not the only reason you need secure shredding. It could also harm your company in other ways, as your reputation could take a real hit if your sensitive information fell into the wrong hands. Nobody wants to work with a company they deem careless or untrustworthy – our secure shredding service, which is audited and accredited by UKSSA (UK Security Shredding Association), provides customers with a Certificate of Destruction, giving you concrete proof of your compliance with the law. Which documents should you be shredding? There is a huge range of business documents that should be shredded. There is often a misconception that these will be fine if disposed of in general waste - but this just isn’t true! So long as those documents are intact, they pose a risk to your company. While there are the obvious documents that need to be shredded, like payroll details, bank statements, and anything with names, addresses and personal data, there are also some documents that you might not think to destroy – like data contained on CDs and data tape. Changeworks Confidential offers secure shredding for a variety of materials and documents – find our top ten documents you should be shredding here. You can count on Changeworks Confidential Overall, by keeping on top of your secure shredding needs, you can ensure both your company and your customers’ peace of mind. Our secure shredding division, Changeworks Confidential, are experts in delivering peace of mind to businesses while helping to protect the environment. Our secure shredding uplifts are carried out by a professional team who have gone through secure vetting and in a dedicated secure vehicle, before being taken to a secure site and shredded within 24 hours. Certificates of Destruction are issued, which should be kept on file to prove you are adhering to data protection regulations. By choosing our service, you’re not only guaranteeing the security of your confidential data, you’re also helping to reduce your carbon emissions too – it's a win-win situation for you and the environment.

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