Every organisation handling personal data – that’s any information that can lead to a real living person being identified – needs to take GDPR seriously.
The Consequences Of A Data Breach
While there have been several high-profile data breaches such as Facebook, EasyJet, Virgin Media and Marriott Hotels, this problem isn’t limited to large organisations. Depending on the severity of a data breach, the consequences can include financial penalties and imprisonment, damage to corporate reputation and customer confidence, and even business failure. While these breaches for the greater part involve malicious hacking or inadequate protection of computer systems, many offices still use printed records of personal data so there is a real risk that this form of information can be compromised too. In fact, from a UK Government report we can see that in Q1 2022, 78.1% of data breaches were non-cyber related, including incorrect disposal of paperwork.Peace Of Mind
Having your paper-based data security audited by a BSEN:15713-2009 compliant company such as Avena Group can give you peace of mind. With clients in the healthcare, finance, education and legal sectors Avena are experts at identifying potential weak spots in data handling, storage and destruction. Through the PROTECTR service, Avena both advise on and provide solutions that mitigate the risks from physical data leaks, whether from documents or end-of-life IT storage devices.An Ingenious Solution
Take for example the patented SECURALL Management Platform from PROTECTR that Avena use. Using securely-locked consoles that fit unobtrusively into any office environment, the SECURALL system makes disposal of confidential documents as easy as throwing them into a wastepaper basket. But once they enter the console they cannot be retrieved by anyone other than one of Avena’s BS7858 security vetted customer service representatives. On arrival, the Avena operative unlocks the console, puts the discarded documents in a security-sealed sack and locks this in their truck. This is then transported in a CCTV-protected, satellite-tracked vehicle to the processing depot where it is shredded into tiny particles of paper, and then recycled.Other Benefits Of An Audit
But it isn’t just data security that Avena takes into consideration when carrying out an audit. Take the situation at Colchester Hospital as an example. Their contractor was providing a ‘walk-round’ service – walking around the entire hospital and emptying each of the 285 secure bins on the site. The hospital was charged a fixed sum per bin for emptying, even though few of the bins were filled to capacity when they were emptied. The audit compared the total bin capacity with the total weight of paper disposed of each week and found that 92.8% of the bin capacity the hospital was paying for was fresh air. With the SECURALL Management Platform, each bin is fitted with a unique QR code. When the bin is almost full the QR code is scanned with a smartphone app and Avena is automatically alerted. This means that when their representative arrives at the hospital, they know exactly which bins require emptying. The benefits?- No paying for secure destruction of fresh air.
- Less disruption to busy hospital departments.
- Bins are only emptied when required.
- More efficient operation of the system.
