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Restore Datashred News

GDPR Anniversary
/ Categories: June

GDPR Anniversary

It’s good news!

 

Since the GDPR and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 were made law a year ago, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has received 144,376 complaints.

 

If this has got you scratching your head, here’s why it’s viewed as A Good Thing.

 

The GDPR and DPA 2018 were introduced to make sure that the individual is placed at the heart of all data protection measures. Through better access, higher levels of knowledge (let’s face it, GDPR has been all over everywhere for the past two years…), and increased information about what steps to take, consumers are indeed feeling more empowered. Individuals are starting to expect and demand more from the organisations with which they interact and, accordingly, are making more complaints when things go wrong.

 

To file under ‘Work still in progress’ is the rather less encouraging statistic that from April 2018- 2019, there were 14,000 reported data breaches in the UK. This figure, which is a four-fold increase over the previous year, places the UK in the top three countries in Europe for number of breaches for the past year (source: Business Cloud, data released in February 2019). In fact, the ICO have handed down significant fines to 29 companies so far, with more to come, they say.

 

What both sets of figures clearly reveal is that there’s no room for complacency. The introduction of the GDPR and DPA 2018 was not a deadline but the start of an ongoing process, and when it comes to building and protecting trust with your customers, no matter what your industry, this process needs constant monitoring and updating to make it as risk-tight as possible!

 

So, we’ve got a question for you…

 

How do you rate your compliance with the final link in the data protection chain – secure data shredding?

 

· Are you keeping data confidential? 

Paper records such as letters, HR documents, financial transactions, customer records, scientific reports, accounts and maps all contain sensitive information. As do their counterparts on hard disk drives, USBs, CDs and DVDs. 

 

· Are you complying with data retention principles? 

Everyone responsible for using personal data has to follow strict rules in the way they handle it. In terms of the final link in the data protection chain, you should make sure the information is:

· kept for no longer than is necessary

· handled in a way that ensures it is safe and secure. 


· How wide is the gap for risk? 

While it’s wholly admirable to use a recycling service for paper and discs, for instance, it’s a much safer bet to make sure you have secure, professional data destruction processes in place.

 

Secure data shredding is the final step in an end-to-end system that manages all your records so that no information is lost, all information is swiftly accessible and no one unauthorised can get their hands on it. Correctly set-up processes protect your business and your customers from data breaches that can be hugely damaging to reputation, not to mention expensive. When those processes also increase efficiency, improve your B2B and B2C relationships and save money – surely it’s a no brainer!

 

 

How Restore Datashred can help 

Restore Datashred has the scale and the scope to be serious about security for your confidential data. Our market-leading business is BS EN15713:2009 shredding standard accredited, so you can be sure we treat your assets with the respect they deserve.

 

We design our range of services to be fully flexible around your needs and in full compliance with the GDPR and DPA 2018. We can carry them out on site at any of your business locations or off site at one of our secure destruction centres – whatever best suits you. For example, we can provide:

· One-off collect and shred – where we can send one of our state-of-the-art mobile shredding vehicles to your site and welcome you checking each bin-load as it is emptied on to the cutting blades.
· Regular collections – store your office-generated confidential waste in one of our on-site lockable bins that one of our friendly, trained operatives will service discreetly, at the agreed time and place, and take to your local data shredding centre for swift, irrevocable destruction.
· Deep storage clear out – in line with your company retention and disposal policy, we will remove obsolete records from deep storage and transport them, under lock and key, to our nearest data shredding centre. Or shred them, there and then in one of our hard-working mobile shredding vehicles – however you wish!

 

All our services are built around what you need, when and where you need it.

 

All our services give… 

– an unbroken chain of custody
– a full audit trail
– a final certificate of destruction 

 

…and leave no possibility of anyone unauthorised getting their hands on your and your customers’ data.

 

Is it time to speak to one of our team? 

If you believe your compliance with the GDPR and the DPA 2018 is not as solid as it should be, we recommend you get in touch with one of our friendly, knowledgeable customer service team on XYZ, who will help set you on the straight and narrow.  

 

Find out more about our services and accreditations at www.restore/Datashred

For in-depth information about data protection (GDPR and DPA 2018) and the implications for records management, go to www.ico.org.uk.

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