Mail Screening Matters

This may be an age of increasingly advanced technology, but most organisations still need to use postal and courier services to send and receive physical mail. As a result, there is still a risk of receiving something dangerous through the post.

Mailstreams into and within an organisation present opportunities for malicious attacks, including hoaxes, and without the appropriate security measures this can affect an organisation’s day-to-day operations, as well as its reputation. That’s why it’s important to understand how to minimise the risk and impact of suspicious mail.

NPSA's Mail Screening and Security Campaign

NPSA has developed a kit of engaging resources to make it easy to raise awareness around postal security. These resources complement the information within PAS 97 Mail Screening and Security – Specification. PAS 97 provides comprehensive guidance on mail screening and security and is available to download from the BSI website. It aims to assist organisations in assessing the risks they face from postal threats, and in implementing appropriate screening and security measures, either internally or outsourced.

Editable guidance materials

Some of the guidance materials are editable (using InDesign) to allow you to add your own organisation’s logo and include the most suitable contact details. These files can be found in the guidance section at the bottom of this page. Please ensure that you have the appropriate software installed in order to access the InDesign files.

You may find NPSA’s 5Es framework useful for planning and maximising the impact of your in-house behaviour change campaigns.

The campaign materials are aimed at three main audiences as detailed below:

All staff

The following materials aim to raise awareness of the importance and relevance of mail security and encourage staff to learn more about their own organisation’s procedures:

A general awareness poster highlighting the existence and importance of mail screening to employees
A screensaver for desktop backgrounds or office TV screens
Educational case study articles highlighting why mail screening matters. These articles could be used for staff intranets or e-newsletters:

Frontline security staff and mail handlers

Employees who handle mail, and security staff with a knowledge of postal security, can use these accessible tools:

A poster summarising the key suspicious indicators to look for and a factsheet (in print and digital formats) presenting more detail.
A poster summarising the key actions to take on finding a suspicious mail item and a factsheet giving more detailed response guidance.

Security managers

The following tools aim to assist those responsible for designing and delivering mail screening procedures in following the guidance contained within PAS 97:2015:

An introductory guide for organisations to outline the threat and provide further information on how to make optimal use of the guidance materials.
An example launch email that can be personalised and sent out to teams or business groups to introduce the campaign.
Two editable PowerPoint presentations; one to brief all staff on mail screening and security, and a second for mail handlers on suspicious indicators and response actions.
A PowerPoint presentation and two factsheets summarising the process to follow when designing mail screening procedures, and how to assess the risks to your organisation.
A tool to help identify the appropriate screening level for each mail stream within an organisation. This is available in print and digital formats.