Europe's leading security standard DIN 66399 provides a comprehensive framework for the destruction of data carriers. This standard classifies data destruction at different security levels and specifies requirements for each media type.
Protection Classes
The DIN 66399 standard defines three protection classes according to the sensitivity level of the data:
- Class 1 - Normal Protection: Protection of internal data. Unauthorised disclosure of data in this class may have adverse effects on the company.
- Class 2 - High Protection: Protection of confidential data. Unauthorised disclosure of data in this class may seriously affect the company's legal position and standing.
- Class 3 - Very High Protection: Protection of especially confidential and sensitive data. Unauthorised disclosure of data in this class may have disastrous consequences for the company and lead to legal repercussions.
Media Categories
The standard defines six different media categories:
- P - Information Carrier: Paper, film, printing plates
- F - Film Based: Microfilm, microfiche
- O - Optical Media: CD, DVD, Blu-ray discs
- T - Magnetic Media: Tapes, floppy disks
- H - Hard Disks: HDDs and magnetic data carriers
- E - Electronic Media: SSDs, USB drives, flash cards, mobile devices
Security Levels
Seven security levels are defined for each media category. For paper (P category):
- P-1: Strip width ≤ 12mm (general documents)
- P-2: Strip width ≤ 6mm (internal documents)
- P-3: Particle size ≤ 320mm² (sensitive data)
- P-4: Particle size ≤ 160mm² (especially sensitive data)
- P-5: Particle size ≤ 30mm² (confidential data)
- P-6: Particle size ≤ 10mm² (highly confidential data)
- P-7: Particle size ≤ 5mm² (highest security)
Hard Disks (H Category)
Security levels for hard disks:
- H-1: Damage to the disk (data recovery possible)
- H-2: Shredding of the disk (data recovery hindered)
- H-3: Particle size ≤ 160mm² (data recovery very difficult)
- H-4: Particle size ≤ 30mm² (data recovery extremely difficult)
- H-5: Particle size ≤ 10mm² (data recovery practically impossible)
Electronic Media (E Category)
For SSDs, USB drives and other flash-based storage devices:
- E-1: Damage to the media
- E-2: Division of the media
- E-3: Particle size ≤ 160mm²
- E-4: Particle size ≤ 30mm²
- E-5: Particle size ≤ 10mm²
ProİMHA's DIN 66399 Compliance
At ProİMHA we carry out all our data destruction services in compliance with the DIN 66399 standard. We determine the appropriate security level according to our customers' needs and provide detailed reporting after certified destruction.
Professional Support
Contact our experts to determine which security level is appropriate for your data destruction needs.
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