How Are Top Secret Document Discarded Asks ABC Office

Released on = June 21, 2006, 9:52 am

Press Release Author = David Stuart / ABC Office.com

Industry = Financial

Press Release Summary = Top-secret documents, like much information, become obsolete
and must be discarded to make room for the new. How does the government safely
dispose of these documents?

Press Release Body =
KAYSVILLE, Utah, June 20, 2006 - As in any office or home environment, bills,
receipts and other personal information eventually gets old and obsolete and must be
properly destroyed. What should be done if the documents are top secret? One of the
older methods of destroying sensitive information is to burn it. Although burning
paper will turn it into unreadable ash, burning papers can get messy,
labor-intensive and can pollute the air. What other alternative is there? The answer
to this question is the high-security paper shredder.

The government, U.S. military and Pentagon have a need to destroy sensitive
material. Whether it is in an office or in the war field, it is important to keep
top-secret documents out of the wrong hands. High-security shredders ensure that
top-secret data is never seen outside the circle of authorized personnel. Although
the U.S. military is the biggest consumer of top-secret shredders, large
corporations also find the need to shred sensitive documents using sophisticated
shredding methods.

Top-secret shredders have changed a lot over the past five years. Five years ago
level 5 shredders were being used to destroy secure documents. Particles that came
out of the machine averaged about 1mm x 11mm in size. Although undecipherable to the
naked eye, it was discovered that a high-powered microscope could still be used to
read top-secret data. Because security for the U.S. government has increased since
September 11th, a new security level has been introduced. The level 6 is now the
only shredder approved for shredding top-secret documents.

Level 6 shredders (http://www.abcoffice.com/shred7.htm) leave paper in particles
that average 1mm x 4mm in size. Some level 6 shredders can chew a document up into
particles as small as 0.07mm x 2.6mm, which is a little bigger than dust. Because
paper is shredded into such small particles, a high-security shredder cannot shred
as much paper at once as more traditional cross-cut shredders. This is because the
shredder teeth are much closer together, creating a lot of resistance as the paper
is shredded. Because high-security shredders shred less at a slower speed, they are
not for everybody.

As top-secret data moves from paper to electronic format, it is now becoming
increasingly important to destroy digital data as well. Hard drive shredders turn
computer components into scrap metal. CD shredders take a disk containing data and
shred it into un-readable pieces of plastic
(http://www.abcoffice.com/shred_cds.htm). Many CD shredders can also shred security
cards and floppy disks. The need to destroy top-secret data will never diminish, nor
will the shredders that are needed to keep that data out of the wrong hands. To read
more about the different security levels, feel free to read ABC Office's paper
shredder guide: http://www.abcoffice.com/shredder_guide.htm#security.

For further information, please contact David Stuart, Marketing Supervisor of ABC
Office, 1-800-658-8788, info@abcoffice.com.

####


Web Site = http://www.abcoffice.com

Contact Details = David Stuart
1142 West Flint Meadow Drive
P.O. Box 829
Kaysville, UT 84037
Phone 1-800-658-8788
Fax 1-801-927-3037
dstuart@abcoffice.com

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