1. Home
  2. 7 security levels

7 security levels

Standardised data shredding: DIN 66399 (ISO/IEC 21964)

Seven security levels for different material classifications have been defined in DIN 66399 (ISO/IEC 21964). A distinction is made within the security levels, more specifically in terms of particle sizes and the ability to reconstruct files.

Find out which Dahle shredder suits your security needs.

Strip cut (strip width max. 6 mm)

Recommended for data carriers containing internal
data to be made unreadable, for example

Strip cut (strip width max. 4 mm)

Recommended for data carriers containing internal
data to be made unreadable, for example

Strip and particle cut (particle size max. 320 mm²)

Recommended for data carriers containing sensitive,
confidential and personal data, for example

Particle size (particle size max. 160 mm²)

Recommended for data carriers containing
especially sensitive and confidential data

Particle size (particle size max. 30mm²)

Recommended for data carriers containing
confidential data, for example

Particle size (particle size max. 10mm²)

Recommended for data carriers containing confidential data if
exceptionallyhigh security measures must be observed, for example

Particle size (particle size max. 5mm²)

Recommended for data carriers with strictly confidential information if the highest
security measures must be observed

The protection class defines how carefully the data must be shredded. DIN 66399 (ISO/IEC 21964) defines 3 protection classes that provide information about the protection requirements of the data. The security level is derived from the protection classes. Each of the seven security levels represents a certain amount

of paper snippets that one DIN A4 sheet is shredded into when shredding with shredders. The higher the number of snippets, the higher the level of security as the printed information is no longer understandable.

Protection class 1 – Average requirement for internal data

Protection class 1 – Average requirement for internal data

The protection of sensitive data is essential in business daily life. Companies process confidential and personal data in both digital and printed form on a daily basis. Modernising and standardising the data protection law across Europe is also the aim of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on 25 May 2018. Many regulations of the previous German Federal Data Protection Act have been extended and tightened. We have summarised the most important changes with regard to data protection for your convenience.

Protection class 2 – high requirement for confidential data

Protection class 2 – high requirement for confidential data

 

Protection class 2 refers to confidential data which is limited to a small group of persons.

If the data is disclosed without authorisation, this would have significant effects on the company and could violate contractual obligations or legislation. The protection of personal data must meet high requirements.

Data in protection class 2 should be shredded with shredders of security level 3 to 5 as a minimum. Examples for data in protection class 2: personal and financial details

 

 

Protection class 3 – extremely high requirements for highly confidential data

Protection class 3 – extremely high requirements for highly confidential data

Data for protection class 3, which is not appropriately protected, can pose a danger to the life and limb of persons or to the freedom of the person in question. Data is highly confidential and secret and must only be used by a very small circle of people. The protection of personal data must be guaranteed at all costs in this case. Data in protection class 3 must be shredded very carefully, which means data must be shredded using shredders with security levels 4 to 7.