Project Zebra: You just do not matter to this whale, it's freeing ►
◄ Project Zebra: Just a rabid goat, foaming at the mouth
If you store information electronically, you can control access based on identities and revoke that access (although you have to assume that once seen someone has taken a photo of important parts even if they haven't copied the file or emailed or uploaded it somewhere). There's scope to easily keep backups.
If you need to keep paper records for some reason, I strongly suggest storage with combination locks using four or more digits. That obviously still isn't proof against a good pry bar but it's reasonably tamper-evident and you can change codes when people leave or if you believe the codes to be compromised.
Most filing cabinet and cupboard locks have a barrel/cylinder with the key code stamped into the front, which means anyone who recognises the lock type can easily order a spare key. Many are also mastered, i.e. one master key can open a whole range of lock numbers. Some that aren't mastered can still be opened with modified master keys. Locks fitting any of those three descriptions are fundamentally not secure.
These are the ones I've encountered most frequently in the last couple of decades.
On the left of each photo below is a Lowe & Fletcher 92 series (LF92) master key, on the right a Lowe & Fletcher 35 series (LF35) master key. In the UK a lot of filing cabinets and freestanding cupboards, particularly older ones, use one of these two locks, and people don't like buying new filing cabinets so they stay in use for a long time. They also still seem to be produced, and are fairly common on confidential waste bins for some reason. Ignore the key blank types indicated on the actual keys, they frequently may not refer to key series. These and many others are available for a few quid from lots of stockists, such as at the time of writing:
https://bumpkeys4u.com/product-category/locksmith-tools-accessories/master-keys-sets-of-master-keys/
LF92 series locks, which have a key code range of 92xxx from 001 to 400, are particularly insecure, and over the decades people have figured out that a majority of them, even those not mastered, will open with a key cut in the shape below. The left two keys are sometimes sold labelled as masters and sometimes stamped with TIP1 which stands for Trade In Post, a locksmith/cobblers/hardware shop in Shifnal that I believe may have closed in the last few years due to the proprietors retiring or passing away. Compared to the LF92 master on the right, it's very clearly more of a gradient that will rake the pins.
The photo should be high enough resolution to get a locksmith to cut blanks accurately. Because it's not an official master, slight jiggling may be necessary to open a lock and it may be more difficult to close a lock with it than to open. But I've not actually come across an LF92 series lock the one on the far left doesn't work with.
The link above also has Hafele masters, which are commonly used on multi-unit lockers and budget wooden enclosures, often ones that are so cheap they're vulnerable to a hard push. The bundle of keys below includes, from right to left, the three standard master keys (although the locks I've come across have all been MK3 type) and the one at the bottom of the pile is used to remove an open lock barrel so that it can be switched with another, which is why these are often preferred for staff lockers. Notice that one has a completely different groove. The key on the right is just 0001 in the series, commonly used on non-mastered locks for confidential waste cabinets.
If you use third parties for secure disposal, do try to enforce storage being more secure than this, and collected frequently enough that sacks aren't left stored outside of cabinets, etc. Check the security basics.
To recap, if you can't avoid keeping paper records and are buying office furniture, get combination locks. It's also possible to use third party bars on most cabinets that you can pair with whatever padlocks are needed to provide some security. Google for "file cabinet locking bar" and similar terms. It's cheaper than a breach.
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