Achieve Full Security With Secure Hard Drive And Media Destruction
Most businesses store a considerable amount of confidential and time sensitive information on hardware. This is information that will need to be destroyed after its period of use. Whilst many businesses store information in paper form, an increasing number of businesses are opting to store their data digitally. There are many ways of destroying a hard drive and other media, but here is what you need to know to achieve this securely:
Why Isn’t Deleting The Information Enough?
Companies must take extra care to effectively dispose of all media containing sensitive data, when it is no longer of use. This includes hard drives, USB memory sticks, memory cards, CDs, DVDs and even SIM cards.
It is commonly assumed that if data is deleted, it is gone forever. This, isn’t the case. Deleted data is still retrievable on the drive. The media device used to store the information allows the data to remain accessible and only by destroying the device completely, will the data be securely cleared.
Other Means Of Disposing Of Data
Many people think that degaussing media (this is the process of removing or altering the magnetic field) is an effective enough way to dispose of data. Though this does corrupt the data, it can only do so to a certain extent. Eliminating the magnetic field doesn’t always completely erase all data, meaning data can still be retrieved.
Legal Responsibility
It is down to the company to make sure that data is secure and there is legislation to enforce this such as the Data Protection Act. This means that every company has a legal requirement to dispose of sensitive data in a media format effectively after use.
Ramifications Of Not Disposing Of Media Properly
On top of the legal consequences of a data breach, a breach can result in damage to your business’ reputation and financial loss. In America, the 2015 ‘Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis’ revealed that – with the millions of data breaches that occurred – on average the amount that organisations paid for every lost or stolen record containing confidential information, increased to $154 from the previous year’s $145.
How To Properly Dispose Of Media
The most effective method to dispose of data is to ensure that the entire media is destroyed. The best way to do this is by having it done, by a professional. Shred-on-Site provides an effective media destruction service that is in keeping with UK legal standards and will improve your overall security. Offering your peace of mind and ensuring compliance.
To learn more about how Shred-on-Site can help you eliminate sensitive pieces of data when your company no longer needs them, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 181 4106 today.
Author: Mark Coombes - Follow me on Google+
