Paper Shredder Security Levels Explained

Shredder security levels explained

Explore the world of shredder security levels, understanding cut types and DIN levels, to help find the right shredder to safeguard your information.

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Data protection
classes

What are the paper shredder security levels?

Paper shredder cut types and data security

Find the Right
Shredder for You

If you need to dispose of personal or confidential paperwork, a shredder is likely to be the answer. By shredding documents into thin strips or small particles, making them almost impossible to reassemble and read, all shredders are designed to make sensitive information harder to access. However, which type of paper shredder you choose depends on what level of security you need.

Data protection classes

In 2012, the DIN Standards Committee introduced DIN 66399, defining requirements for data destruction across various media. The standard includes three data protection classes:

Protection class 1 – Standard Security for Internal Data

A data leak would have a negative, but limited, impact on the individual and company. There is still a need to keep personal data safe to avoid causing any issues for the people involved, though the risk is relatively limited.

Protection class 2 – High Security for Confidential Data

If this data leaks, it could seriously harm the company and even break some laws. Organisations need to be extra careful with this data, fulfilling strict requirements. The financial and personal risk for the people affected would be considerable.

Protection class 3 – Top Security for Highly Confidential and Secret Data

A data leak in this category could have catastrophic consequences, threatening an organisations survival and violating contracts and laws. Personal data security must be maintained, because leaks could put people’s health, safety, or personal freedom at risk.

What are the paper shredder security levels?

DIN 66399 created seven paper shredder security levels, from P-1 to P-7 , also sometimes known as DIN levels. A high DIN security level indicates that the shredder shreds documents into smaller paper particles. These different security levels correspond to a specific protection class.

Protection Class	Security Level
Class 1	P-1 to P-3
Class 2	P-3 to P-5
Class 3	P-5 to P-7

As you can see, there’s quite a wide range of shredder security levels, making it very important that you understand which shredder meets your security needs before making a purchase.

For most shredding needs, we recommend a paper shredder in protection category 2 with a security level of P-4, or P-5. These levels are sufficient for securely shredding confidential documents.

Paper shredder cut types and data security

Paper shredders are often described using their cut type, as this is generally easier to understand and less technical. For example, you might already be aware that a shredder will either reduce a document into strips, Cross-Cut, Mini-Cut or Micro-Cut particles.

However, do you know how these cut types correspond to the seven paper shredder security levels?

In simple terms, the finer the particle size is after it has been shredded, the higher the security level. That’s because smaller particle sizes are more difficult to piece together, providing greater data security.

Strip-Cut ►

DIN P-1 & P-2

≥ 36 strips
per A4 sheet

Basic Security - The most basic security level for paper documents containing no personal or company data. Not suitable for business environments or personal data.

Cross-Cut ►

DIN P-3 & P-4

≥ 300 particles
per A4 sheet

High Security - Suitable for sensitive personal or confidential documents, such as delivery notes with address details or company sales reports.

Mini-Cut ►

DIN P-4

≥ 1000 particles
per A4 sheet
up to 3x more secure versus Cross-Cut

Advanced Security - Suitable for secure destruction of documents like account numbers and invoices while significantly reducing the volume of paper waste.

Micro-Cut ►

DIN P-5

≥ 2000 particles
per A4 sheet
up to 6x more secure versus Cross-Cut

Superior Security - Suitable for highly confidential data like balance sheets, strategic documents and patents as the paper particles are virtually impossible to reassemble and read.

High Security ►

DIN P-6 & P-7

≥ 6000 particles
per A4 sheet
up to 40x more secure versus Cross-Cut

Maximum Security - Government approved; suitable for top secret and classified documents. High security shredders can turn paper into dust.

Resources

Paper Shredder Security Levels Explained

Data protection classes

Protection class 1 – Standard Security for Internal Data

Protection class 2 – High Security for Confidential Data

Protection class 3 – Top Security for Highly Confidential and Secret Data

What are the paper shredder security levels?

Paper shredder cut types and data security

Strip-Cut ►

Cross-Cut ►

Mini-Cut ►

Micro-Cut ►

High Security ►

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