SITA highlights importance of secure data disposal

The event Staying secure: delivering on information, destruction and data protection was held at the Law Society in London where attendees heard about the importance of keeping their information secure throughout the disposal process.

The event was attended by figures from both the public and private sector.

Speaking at the event David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of SITA UK, said that SITAs market research that showed the secure destruction and confidence in destruction was an important element to UK organisations.

And, he said that trust between a supplier and data collector is vital and allows for things to be more easily resolved if a breach occurs.

He said: We are looking to work for some of the most security conscious in the UK but sometimes things go wrong and we have a way to assist our customers. There needs to be a trust between the supplier and the organisation so they can resolve this problem.

Mr Palmer-Jones also said that looking forward he hoped that recycling could be incorporated into data destruction. I am passionate about recycling and we hope that destruction and recycling could be brought together so they are not mutually exclusive so we can contribute to the sustainability of the organisation.

BSIA

Also at the event, Daren Wood, membership manager at the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), told attendees of the importance of complying with European standard EN15713, which provides organisations with recommendations for the management and control of confidential material to ensure it is disposed of securely.

The BSIA is the trade organization for the private security industry.

He also warned of companies that claim to work to the standard and stated that the only way to ensure complete confidence in the data collector was to request sight of the UKAS ISO9001 which incorporates the EN15713.

Protection

Alastair Barter, senior policy officer at the Business and Industry Group Information Commissioners Office, reinforced Mr Palmer-Jones point that the need for trust and communication is vital and said that contracts must be in place to secure this.

He also warned of the importance of damage limitation and reporting of security breached.

Mr Barter said: We need to require the data collectors to have appropriate security measures in place. As the data has a value to the organisation it should be just as valuable to them once it has been handed over to the data collector.