The Experian report was based on research into the contents of 71 commercial organisations’ rubbish bins. It revealed that 45% of those companies threw away headed paper, 24% disposed of directors’ signatures, 44% whole invoices and 20% discarded company bank account details – making no attempt to destroy any of them.
The report links these findings to the GB pound 1.34 billion cost of identity fraud in the UK.
For its part, the BSIA advises organisations to use specialist information destruction companies, and to consider the disposal of confidential material as part of the security function. All confidential material – from paper through to computer hard drives – should be destroyed under a written contract, and with a series of attendant assurances.
The BSIA’s Information Destruction Section formulated the first Code of Practice on this matter, which is currently being developed into a Publicly Available Specification. It ensures that confidential material is destroyed in accordance with the Data Protection Act – under contract and on secure sites in less than 72 hours – and is carried out by staff vetted to British Standard BS 7858.
For further information on information destruction look at www.experian.co.uk and www.bsia.co.uk/bsia_destruct.taf
