There’s a great deal of talk about GDPR right now and the huge impact it could have for people who hold confidential information about customers or employees.
For many in business, GDPR will be a wake-up call to ensure they have systems in place to keep data safe.
What is GDPR?
The new General Data Protection Regulation will come into effect on May 25, 2018, and the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect this.
There are some similarities with the existing UK Data Protection Act 1998, and some key differences.
The main difference is the level of penalty organisations can face if they breach the new regulations.
GDPR will mean those who commit data protection breaches can face fines of up to 4% of their organisation’s global turnover or up to 20 million Euros, whichever is higher.
That is a heftier penalty than the current system of fines which is capped at £500,000.
So, under GDPR, the threat of business insolvency because of data protection breaches becomes very real.
What are some of the other differences?
IP addresses will become personal data and the GDPR rules will not only apply to information held on computers, they will also apply to manually-held data.
There are special new categories for genetic and biometric data which could identify someone.
People who process data will have to keep more detailed records of the data and how it is processed. There will be far more legal liability placed on processers if there is a data breach.
Anyone who is a data ‘controller’ – businesses, for example – will need to ensure their contracts with data processers comply with GDPR.
This applies to anyone using data being processed in the EU and by organisations outside it offering goods or services to people inside the EU.
How will the changes affect businesses?
Knowing you have a system for secure destruction and a complete paperwork chain of waste transfer certificates and certificates of destruction will be far more important.
This ensures your business is covered if there is an investigation into a potential data breach.
How can secure destruction help your business comply with GDPR?
Confidential waste paper shredding – A reputable company such as Taclus Confidential will give you the peace of mind that your confidential paper waste has been destroyed securely, and the paperwork to prove it.
Criminals have been known to use scanners which reconstruct shredded waste placed out in normal recycling or waste.
The other benefit is that your staff don’t have to spend their time shredding your confidential paperwork.
We can provide lockable consoles to ensure your waste is secure before collection. Shredding this amount of paper yourself can take up to two hours, but Taclus will deal with this for an all-inclusive price of just £18.95 per month. This gives you security, peace of mind knowing that you’ve complied with all data protection and environmental legislation and the documentation to prove it.
We also provide loose sacks at a very affordable rate.
Hard drive and digital product destruction – If you’re upgrading your computers or getting rid of flash drives or camera cards which contain confidential information, getting those drives shredded with a certificate of destruction will keep that data safe.
It will also prove to investigators that your data protection systems are robust.
Why you should choose Taclus Confidential – a South Wales secure shredding company
Taclus Confidential holds the accreditations for ISO 9001:2015 for quality management and ISO14001:2015 for environmental management, and has been certified by independent auditors IQS for both.
Taclus has also been selected as the confidential waste management partner for Keep Wales Tidy.
Are you looking for an affordable secure shredding service in South Wales? If you need advice on dealing with the secure destruction of confidential waste, call our friendly and efficient team on 02920 676 714, or email [email protected].