DCN June 2017 | Page 32

information security SENSITIVE ISSUE Lloyd Williams, founder and chairman of Shredall SDS Group explores the evolution of the information security industry over the last two decades.  S ecurity is paramount, in every aspect of our lives. Businesses are constantly looking into new ways to make our homes, cars and shopping experience more safe and secure and banks are becoming savvier too, with sophisticated technology enabling them to detect fraud quicker. We’re growing wise to the methods and patterns of criminals and cyber criminals and yet the estimated annual cost 32 | June 2017 of fraud in the UK was £193bn last year, according to The Annual Fraud Indicator 2016, equating to more than £6,000 lost per second every single day. Business fraud is estimated to account for £144bn of that. As a business that champions the safe disposal of sensitive information, it is shocking to read statistics like that – and yet at the same time we can believe that fraud is on the up. Why? Because, like us, criminals and cyber criminals are growing even wiser; they’re finding new ways to operate and often in groups rather than individuals these days. And despite the introduction of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) (legislation that completely transformed the information security industry) there are so many businesses still unaware that there is a correct way to dispose of their confidential waste.