Destroy confidential documents

Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), you are legally required to destroy confidential documents containing personal data and information when it is no longer needed. Destroying personal data, such as names, addresses, PPS numbers, bank details and more, can help to avoid data breaches and protect individuals from identity theft.

Read below to find out how long you should store confidential data, how to store them correctly and how you can securely destroy both paper and digital files after their retention period.

How long should personal data or confidential documents be stored for?

In Ireland, there is no single rule for how long you should store personal data or confidential documents. The general rule is to keep it for as long as necessary, and no longer! Storing personal data for too long (or disposing of it incorrectly) can come with some hefty fines and possible investigations, so it is best to dispose of them as soon as possible.

If you are a business owner, employer, self-employed person or contract party, you are required to store tax documents, HR or Employee records, contracts and legal claims for at least 6 years. This is in compliance with Irish Law, as these documents may be required by Revenue Commissioners, Employment law, Workplace Relations or Statute of Limitations Act.

Storing personal data and confidential documents correctly

In order to avoid serious data breaches, storing personal data and confidential documents correctly is essential! For physical, paper documents, it is recommended to keep them safely stored away in filing cabinets or filing archive boxes, in secure or access-controlled areas. While these files should be labelled clearly, avoid writing any sensitive information (like full names) on the outside of the file.

For electronic data that you are storing digitally, you will want to use encrypted and secure cloud storage providers, such as Microsoft OneDrive, Google Workspace or Dropbox Business. All confidential files should be password-protected and use two-factor authentication, where possible. It will also be important to back up your data regularly and keep softwares, such as antivirus and firewalls, updated to avoid the loss of any data.

How to destroy physical confidential documents

The best way to destroy physical documents that contain personal data and confidential information is to use a method that ensures the information is completely unreadable and unrecoverable.

Shredding confidential documents yourself

One of the easiest and most cost effective ways of destroying documents is by using a cross-cut shredder or a micro-cut shredder. These shredders turn your documents into tiny, confetti-like pieces of paper, meaning they’re almost impossible to reassemble. We recommend choosing a paper shredder with a DIN P-level (security level of paper shredders) of at least P-4 or P-5. Read our ‘Choosing a paper shredder’ blog to get a better insight on paper shredders, so you can choose one that will securely destroy any confidential documents.

Outsource to a professional shredding service

If you have a large volume of confidential documents that needs to be destroyed quickly, it might be best to outsource the task to a professional shredding service! There are many GDPR-compliant providers that offer this service, that will either shred your documents on-site or at a secure facility. You will be provided with a certificate of destruction for compliance.

Destroying digital media, such as USB sticks and CDs

You must also destroy digital media, such as USB sticks, CDs and hard drives, if they contain confidential information. Certain home paper shredders are equipped to shred CDs just as well as paper, but if you have USB sticks or hard drives that must be destroyed, they should be destroyed by a professional service with industrial shredders.

It is recommended to destroy files these ways instead of just tearing documents by hand and recycling them!

How to destroy digital confidential documents

It is just as important to destroy confidential documents that you have stored digitally and simply moving them to the recycling bin on your PC won’t destroy them permanently. Thankfully, there are some ways you can securely destroy these files.

Use file shredding software for secure deletion

File shredding software overwrites the data on documents multiple times, making it virtually impossible to recover. Some recommended tools include Eraser or BleachBit for Windows and Permanent Eraser or Secure Empty Trash for macOS. These are best for individual files or folders you want to remove permanently.

Physically destroy your storage device

Physically destroying the storage device which the confidential documents are stored on is the most foolproof method when permanently deleting data. Whether it’s for an old laptop, USB, SSD or phone, you can remove the hard drive or storage chip and damage it by drilling holes in it or hammering it. You can also use an e-waste destruction service!

It’s important to also remember that if you’re selling, recycling or throwing away an old computer, external drive or phone, you should wipe the drive to ensure old data will not be recovered.

If you have files that need to be stored, have a look at our storage and archiving options! If it’s time to permanently get rid of some confidential files, take a look at our wide range of paper shredders that will help you get started.

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