Confidentiality within the workplace has become an ever more pressing issue since the widespread media coverage on identity theft and missing government reports. Scandals about missing data with names, addresses and national insurance numbers have filled the tabloid press of late. Reports in broadsheets have focussed on laptops and discs being found on trains and at roundabouts with patient information from hospitals and vehicle details from the DVLA on. Through this, businesses have come to understand the importance of securely disposing of sensitive and confidential data.



Obviously, only diligence and good practice can prevent the loss of data on discs and laptops, but within the confines of an office environment it is a simple task to destroy printed information. Many offices use mains powered shredders to ensure information on documents do not enter the hands of an organisation or individual that could use the information. Some offices invest in secure on site shredding services in industries where the information is of a particularly classified or sensitive nature.

The threat of identity theft is a very real one, and there are many individuals that already engage in proper practice to ensure that their identity remains theirs. It is therefore the responsibility of businesses and companies to ensure they treat their client's information with the same degree of security. Finding out that someone has accessed confidential personal information because of a lackadaisical approach to information disposal by your bank for example, is bound to cause distress.

I have recently gone through a traumatic experience regarding information that has fallen into the wrong hands, and the fact that it involved the details of my nine year old son made the whole situation even more disturbing. The truth is, that many of us may be entirely unaware that our personal information is being used for ulterior motives. It is not until we apply for a loan and get refused, or apply for a passport and find that we somehow already have one, or even put in a claim for housing benefit to be told that it is already being claimed in that name that we discover that an identity has been stolen. How then is it possible to know if my son's details have been used until he is old enough to enter the system? If the organisation in question had been more vigilant and used a shredding service, then it is possible that this fiasco would not have happened.

A close friend of mine did not find out that his bank details had been stolen until he received a statement from his bank that had several hundred pounds worth of transactions on it that he had not authorised. Having to reclaim his money through official channels turned out to be an arduous and emotional process; and one that could have been avoided had he used a shredder for his bank statements. Be warned, that is important to make sure that you shred correctly; some people make the mistake of feeding the paper in the wrong way, neatly shredding whole lines of readable text.

Deciding to shred all your documents has a benefit beyond information security. It is also a convenient and productive way to recycle paper. During the shredding process at home, or via a specialised shredding company, paper is being separated from other waste materials, processed and bagged ready for disposal. It is possible that an awareness of environmental impact could influence a practical and positive approach to protection of personal information.