Be careful what you throw in the trash ? it could be confidential company information.

The warning comes from Guardian Secure Document Destruction (GSDD).

And in an age of identity theft and corporate espionage it has never been more important for companies to protect client and employee information, said GSDD vice president Doyle Butterfield. GSDD is a division of Guardian Data Solutions Limited, which was created in early 2005 to offer a complementary set of services to businesses in the area of records and information management.

After Guardian surveyed Bermuda?s largest organisations to find out how they protect information, the company found the results alarming.

GSDD president Leonard Aitken said: ?We found that nine out of ten bags of trash taken from in and around Hamilton contained an abundance of confidential company, employee and client information.

?Guardian offers a way to properly dispose of confidential records destined for destruction and destroy them confidentially in a secure controlled environment.

?We destroy an organisation?s trade information, employee?s personal information and an organisation?s client information. Either way an organisation is entrusted with extremely valuable information that must be safeguarded.

?We destroy records economically, efficiently and securely. We can do this inexpensively because our machine shreds 1,800 pounds an hour, whereas the typical office shredder shreds 150 pounds an hour.? Guardian feels that companies in Bermuda must conform to international compliance regulations required to protect data information. Prior to being at Guardian both Mr. Aitken and Mr. Butterfield worked at the Bank of New York in their Alternative Investment Services division. ?We have been shredding since the middle of June and so far we have shredded around 2.2 million pages of confidential records which is equivalent of 22,000 pounds of confidential records. Recycling 22,000 pounds of paper will save roughly 170 trees.?

The company has clients from a variety of areas including Government, finance, insurance, health services, retail and small business.

?Every client we have has either customers concerned with privacy or companies concerned with protecting trade information,? Mr. Aitken said. He said it is common for organisations to concentrate on information that is tucked away on shelves in file rooms and warehouses.

But he said incidental records also constitute a significant risk. Incidental records can comprise as much as 60 percent of the waste generated in an office environment.

Documents such as duplicates, misprints, copies, and drafts are all examples of incidental records that may contain important confidential customer, employee and company information.

These should all be protected by the same physical safeguards afforded to stored records when they are discarded.

For information on GSDD call Mr. Aitken of Mr. Butterfield on 29-shred (74733), or send an e-mail to infoguardian.bm or visit www.guardian.bm.