Standardised data destruction

The 7 security levels for document shredders explained

DIN 66399 (ISO/IEC 21964) defines seven security levels for different material classifications. Within the framework of the security levels, a distinction is made primarily according to particle size and reconstruction capability.

Find out which Dahle document shredder fits your security needs.

Security level P2

Security: Weak
Strip cut (strip width max. 6mm)
Recommended e.g. for data carriers with internal data that
are to be made unreadable

Security level P3

Security: Weak
Strip and particle cut (particle size max. 320mm²)
Recommended e.g. for data carriers with sensitive,
confidential and personal data

Security level P4

Security: Medium
Particle cut (particle size max. 160mm²)
Recommended e.g. for data media with
particularly sensitive and confidential data

Security level P5

Security: Medium
Particle cut (Particle size max. 30mm²)
Recommended e.g. for data media with secret
data to be kept secret

Security level P6

Security: Medium
Particle cut (Particle size max. 10mm²)
Recommended e.g. for data carriers with data to be kept secret, if exceptionally high security precautions must be observed

Security level P7

Security: High
Particle cut (Particle size max. 5mm²)
Recommended for data media with top secret data, when the highest security precautions must be observed

Shred data optimally on any data carrier

Document shredders from Dahle are optimised for different materials. Whether it is the classic destruction of data on paper or digital data that is to be destroyed: With Dahle Document shredders you can be sure!

P – Presentation of information in original size, e.g. paper, films, printing forms.
F – Information presentation reduced in size, e.g. microfilms, foil.
O – Information presentation on optical data carriers, e.g. CDs/DVDs.
T – Information representation on magnetic data carriers, e.g. ID cards.
H – Information display on hard disks with magnetic data carriers.
E – Information presentation on electronic data carriers, e.g. smart cards

Discover how Dahle Document shredders efficiently and securely shred any type of data and choose your perfect document shredder from our extensive portfolio.

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The 3 protection classes

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

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 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

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.