The Trade Association will also be keen to underline the growing security and financial implications for those organisations who fail to take rigorous and timely steps to dispose of their data.
From the BSIA’s experience – and as frequent news headlines testify – despite numerous warnings, a worrying number of public and private organisations still do not have robust procedures in place to destroy the information they hold in line with their Data Protection Act obligations.
The end result of this ‘data disposal gap’ is that organisations are likely to find themselves liable to punitive action for breaches by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which, following changes in 2010, can now issue penalty fines up to GB pound 500,000.
They also face the very real prospect, without a verifiable audit trail, of the fraudulent use of their data and the associated loss of customer, investor and public confidence… with all that entails.
Russell Harris, chairman of the BSIA’s Information Destruction (ID) Section, stresses the need for renewed vigilance when it comes to data and how it is disposed of.
“Given the thirst for data shown by the criminal fraternity,” he said, “the range of formats that information can now be held in – from paper to computer hard drives and associated media – and the sheer quantity of data being produced on a daily basis, the requirement for an effective information destruction process has never been greater.”
Harris went on to state:”During the Total Workplace Management (TWM) event, which we are attending for the first time as an ID Section, we plan to offer facilities managers, who have a key role to play in this type of disposal, valuable guidance on how to select reputable and trusted information destruction providers to comply with the Data Protection Act. We will also be able to direct attendees towards more environmentally friendly and sustainable methods of disposal to help demonstrate their organisation’s ‘green’ credentials.”
About Total Workplace Management
Co-located with the M&E Building Services Event and Energy Solutions, TWM is organied by UBM Live (publisher of www.info4security.com)
The show runs on 11 and 12 October at the Olympia Exhibition Hall in London.
To register for attendance click here
For more information about secure data destruction visit Stand B74 at Total Workplace Management or log on to www.bsia.co.uk/shredding
