Corporate Data & Document Safes

Many businesses, government departments and even cyber security organisations in Ireland have been lured into a false sense of security due to misleading advice on their physical data, document and back-up storage.

Invariably most businesses and public sector departments will tell you they are confident that their physical protection measures for data and documents are more than adequate to counter most contingencies, but how justified is that confidence when the bulk of information coming from big name suppliers regarding the protection offered by fire and data safes, cabinets and strongrooms is less than reliable, and the procurement of such equipment usually happens in the absence of genuine expert advice and specialist industry knowledge.

Physical data and document secure storage procurement questions

• Are accredited European certification documents available to back-up the claimed physical security or fire resistance attributes of data or document safes, cabinets and rooms, providing a legal proof of standard?
• In the case of magnetic data is the equipment certified for temperature and humidity limits that will protect magnetic data in an intense fire?
• Is secure storage equipment for data and documents certified against the kind of structural collapse that is likely to result from an intense fire?
• Does all physical data or document protection equipment have at least one stamped metal certification plate from an accredited European certification body matching the fire and burglary standards required?
• How is access to sensitive data and documents controlled and is such access automatically audited?
• If expert advice was sought on the procurement of physical data protection equipment and its suitability for various types of media before purchase, was documentation to back up that advice provided?

Qualified expert advice is critical to avoid the risk of catastrophic data or document loss

An expert understanding of accredited, certified, document and data safe, cabinet and room testing, and the relevance of that certification in relation to risk and operation, is essential to avoid costly or even catastrophic mistakes. Considerations such as certification of fire resistance and burglary protection are just the starting point as different types of data media have varying degradation levels under a range of stress factors. For example, humidity as well as temperature is a critical factor in preserving magnetic data in a fire, whereas paper documents have a far higher stress level, yet, it is often the case that safes or cabinets which may be barely suitable for storing paper documents, are being used in businesses and government departments to protect magnetic data and back-ups.

The importance of accredited European certification

EU Parliament regulation 765/2008 created the system that provides the legal basis of accreditation for the burglary resistance certification of safes and cabinets to:

• European standard EN1143-1, the burglary resistance certification for safes
• European standard EN14450, the burglary resistance certification for cabinets
• European standard EN15659 the protection of paper documents from fire
• European standard EN1047-1 the protection of data from fire and structural collapse 

These are the logos of the four certification bodies with accreditation to ISO IEC17065 to certify safes to European standards you will most likely encounter on a genuine certification plate in Ireland.

The ultimate protection against misrepresentation and a legal proof of standard of burglary and fire resistance, accredited European certification is the most important factor in maintaining insurance cover long term, as well as being the basis for all insurance rate recommendations in Europe. When there is a need to ensure regulatory compliance, for the storage of important legal documents or data, anything less than accredited European certification and the legal proof of standard it provides can leave an organisation or individual vulnerable. European accredited certification for safes and strongrooms is backed by regular auditing, market surveillance and is verifiable, proof of standard for both insurance and litigation purposes.

If you consider that 70% of safes tested for burglary resistance by accredited European testing labs fail on the first attempt the practical implications of accepting unaccredited claims of burglary or fire resistance are obvious.

What accredited European certification looks like

Certification for the suitability of secure storage for documents can be indicated under European standard EN15659 and EN1047-1 while the suitability of secure storage for physical magnetic data storage is indicated under standard EN1047-1 only.

Accredited European certification that a safe or cabinet is suitable to protect paper or data will always be displayed on a stamped metal plate on the inside of the unit's door.This information will never appear on a sticker.

Data certification is completely separate to any burglary resistance certification plate that a safe may have. There is absolutely no connection between the grade of a safe and the unit's fire resistance.The same information will be available on accredited certification documents which are freely available and should always be asked for.

Fire protection for paper EN15659

EN15659 is the “Light Fire Storage” certification standard (LFS). Units tested to this standard are designed to provide differing levels of protection, units marked LFS30P having been furnace tested at 842°C for 30 minutes and units marked LFS60P for 60 minutes at 945°C. The certification plate for light fire storage will appear separately to a burglary resistance certification that may appear on the unit. As this standard is intended for the protection of paper documents, humidity is not measured during testing.

Fire & impact protection for data EN1047-1

EN1047-1 is the data standard for safes and cabinets. S60P and S120P are standards for the protection of paper documents both having an internal temperature limit of 170°C during furnace testing at a temperature of 1090°C. Units marked S60D and S120D have to maintain an internal temperature limit of 70°C and a humidity limit of 85% during testing. Units marked S60DIS and S120DIS have to maintain an internal temperature limit of 52°C and a humidity limit of 85% during testing. Certification plates for this standard will appear separately to any burglary resistance certification that may appear on the unit

European fire standards for physical data & paper documents

The abbreviations in the table stand for:

• LFS - Light fire storage unit to EN15659
• S  - Data cabinet to EN1047-1
• DI - Diskette insert for installation into a data cabinet of protection class S60P and S120P
• C - Data container to EN1047-2
• R - Data room to EN1047-2
• 30 - Exposure to flames for 30 minutes
• 60 - Exposure to flames for 60 minutes
• 120 - Exposure to flames for 120 minutes
• P - Suited for heat sensitive paper documents with stress limits up to 170°C
• D - Suited for heat and humidity sensitive data media with stress limits up to 70°C and 85% air humidity
• DIS - Suited for heat and humidity sensitive data media with stress limits up to 52°C and 85% air humidity

 For expert advice call: +353 1 7076011

Certified Safes Ireland™ in-house advisor on keeping jewellery, watch collections, goods, cash, documents and data, safe, secure, yet readily accessible, is Alan Donohoe Redd.

Alan Donohoe Redd is a member of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes, strongrooms (vaults), secure cabinets and physical data protection for the European Union and a member of the U.S. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel TC72 covering standards for fire resistance of record protection devices. Alan is also a registered NATO supplier and a longstanding member of the European Security Systems Association. Alan has a vast range of experience spanning almost 40 years encompassing installation of safes, strongrooms, physical data protection, CCTV, alarms, access control, secure storage control systems and Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) specification, design and installation.

An expert on standards and fraud issues related to secure storage in Europe, the UK and the use of asbestos in European safe and cabinet manufacturing, Alan has had articles related to these subjects published by The Law Society Gazette and Irish Broker Magazine, has forced retractions of multiple false claims related to secure storage offerings to the public and has been pivotal in having misleading standards and practices recognised and withdrawn in Ireland, the UK and at a European level.

Alan's seminars on safes, strongrooms and high net worth secure storage have been part of Continuing Professional Development for underwriters and insurers having been awarded CPD points by the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).

 Alan's expertise has been relied on by:

N.A.T.O. Europe, The U.S. Air Force (Europe), The National Treasury Management Agency (Ireland), The Department Of Communications (NCSC Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Revenue Commissioners, Electricity Supply Board (Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Danish Defence Forces (Afghanistan), PayPal (Worldwide), Grant Thornton, The Insurance Institute of Ireland, The Royal College Of Surgeons, BFC Bank, Interxion Data Centres, The Private Security Authority, Isle of Man Gold Bullion, Brown Thomas, Bvlgari, Boodles, Druids Glen, The Shelbourne Hotel, and many others ....