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The DIN 66399 Standard for the Secure Shredding of Paper & Data Media

There is now a new European Security Standard for the Shredding or Destruction of all types of Data Media, the DIN 66399 which, as of the 1st September 2012, supersedes the previous DIN 32757 and DIN EN 15713 standards (Click here for more information about the DIN 32757 Standard).

What is the DIN Level for a shredder?

This new DIN Standard, developed by the Deutsche Industrial Norm (DIN) sets out new responsibilities regarding the Protective Security required for Commercial Organisations, Government Departments, and Individuals to help make an informed choice of the correct equipment to guarantee all levels of Secure Destruction.
The new DIN 66399 Standard has now been expanded from just 5 security levels to now include advice on the level of protection required for all types of Media and 3 protection categories:

Three Protection Categories

  • Class 1 is for the Normal Protection required for Internal Data where disclosure would have a negative impact on a Company or a risk of Identity Theft of an Individual.
  • Class 2 is for the Higher Protection for Confidential Data where disclosure would have a considerably negative effect or could breach legal obligations of a Company, or offer a risk of adverse social or financial standing of an individual.
  • Class 3 Is for Very High Protection for Confidential and Top Secret Data which if disclosed could have terminal consequences for a Company or Government Entity, and have a health and safety or personal freedom risk to individuals.

What are the Security Levels for shredders?

The destruction of media is classified into 6 categories, each available in 7 different security levels. The shredding of paper is category P with the higher the security required the higher the number. Level P-1 is the lowest security for general documents & advertising whereas P-7 is for the highest security data usually for the Military & Security services.

Six Media Categories

  • P Paper Based Products
  • F Film Based Products including Micro-film, Microfiche, and Slides etc.
  • O Optical Media including CD's, DVD's and Blu-ray Disks etc.
  • T Magnetic Data Media like Floppy Discs, ID Cards, Magnetic Tapes, and Cassettes etc.
  • H Hard Drives from Computers, Laptops, and External Devices
  • E Electronic Data Media like Memory Sticks, Cards with a Magnetic Chip, Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Mobile Phones

Seven Specific Security Levels:

P = Paper Media Requirements
Click the levels below to see the relevant shredders

Maximum Shred Sizes for Other Media

Scroll horizontally if the rest of this table is hidden from view
Class Film Max Optical Max Media Max Magnetic Max Electronic Max
Class 1 F-1 160mm² O-1 2000mm² T-1 Inoperable H-1 Inoperable E-1 Inoperable
F-2 30mm² O-2 800mm² T-2 Split H-2 Damaged E-2 Split
F-3 10mm² O-3 160mm² T-3 2000mm² H-3 Deformed E-3 160mm²
Class 2 F-4 2.5mm² O-4 30mm² T-4 320mm² H-4 2000mm² E-4 30mm²
F-5 1mm² O-5 10mm² T-5 160mm² H-5 320mm² E-5 10mm²
Class 3 F-6 0.5mm² O-6 5mm² T-6 10mm² H-6 160mm² E-6 1mm²
F-7 0.2mm² O-7 0.2mm² T-7 2.5mm² H-7 10mm² E-7 0.5mm²