Anything printed out by a company is potentially a liability. While the vast majority of printouts may not contain confidential information, a small percentage might, although this isn’t the same for every company. The difficulty is in what to do with all this paper that has a tendency to build up over time, creating more problems, not to mention taking up space.
The unfortunate thing for many businesses is that just using any old paper shredding solution is not enough. It has to be handled properly, meaning that using the shredder in the office is insufficient. The Data Protection Act has been created to ensure that not only is a company protected, but also its employees, clients and customers. Any business found not to be dealing with data in the proper way will face the consequences. And if they have data stolen and then used against them, it could not only mean damage as a result of it, but also through industry and regulatory fines. A good rule to follow is if a person can be identified in a business’ waste, then it is too much of a liability.
The answer comes in the form of secure shredding businesses who have invested in the technology to completely destroy the data so that it cannot be put back together. They should provide clients with the means to securely store data in bags and boxes which can be locked, before picking it all up and issuing a Certificate of Destruction to ensure that the data has been properly destroyed.