For businesses, when it comes to erasing sensitive data and information from your IT assets, you need to make sure that it is completely gone.
The last thing any company would want is for the following user of their old equipment to access the company’s financial details or exploit their customers' information.
With most transactions moving online, this is a problem that large and small businesses face since they hold data that likely involves personally identifiable information (PII) or sensitive security information (SSI), which are subjected to regulatory compliance.
Most people don’t realise it, but you can still recover information even if a file has been trashed or the device has been reformatted to factory settings.
According to a Comparitech study, 3 in 5 second-hand solid-state drives still have leftover data from previous owners. What’s worse is that these disks already had a deletion attempt, but the data were just not securely removed.
Though this makes physically destroying the hard drives sound like a desirable option to ensure that the data becomes permanently irretrievable, It, however, comes with a cost.
The physical destruction of hard drives and IT assets contributes to the growing e-waste problems that bring irreversible damage to the ecosystem.
The Cost of Destroying Hard Drives
There are environmental and financial implications for destroying IT assets.
Based on a Blancco survey that gathers data from government and public sector firms across nine countries, destroying hard drives can increase operational and material costs.
Altogether, between $12.8 million and $17 million is spent on destroying desktops, laptops, and servers each year, while another $40 million is used to replace the hard disk drives that have been destroyed.
Furthermore, the physical destruction of hard drives and IT assets also contributes to the growing e-waste problems that bring irreversible damage to the ecosystem.
Incinerating electronic devices, for example, releases bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs) that can cause cancer in humans and damage the soil.
Now, if you are thinking if there is a sustainable and secure solution that can negate or reduce the consequences surrounding the disposal of IT assets, the answer is data wiping.
Sustainable Data Sanitisation
Data wiping, also known as data sanitisation, refers to the action of erasing all data off the hard drive to the extent that it can no longer be recovered.
With e-waste being one of the world’s fastest growing issues, this method for handling unwanted electrical assets is important to consider from an environmental perspective.
The data sanitisation process, which involves overwriting the solid-state drive with random data will ensure it is cleared while retaining functionality.
This means working components from devices can be reused, while elements and minerals can be extracted for recycling.
Data wiping allows the reuse of electronic assets, which sustainably reduces the environmental impact when compared to physical destruction.
You can recycle or reuse your electronic equipment and even resell it confidently since your company’s data is no longer retrievable.
Overall, data sanitisation allows the reuse of electronic assets, which sustainably reduces the environmental impact when compared to physical destruction.
Why Make Data Wiping a Standard Business Operation?
Every business should recognise the importance of information security.
Customer data, industrial data, and market research — businesses today are responsible for vast volumes of data that require confidentiality.
Data privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) direct how organisations should manage, distribute, protect, and dispose of customer data.
Failure to comply that results in a data breach can cost serious financial violations, stipulating a fine of €20 million or 4% of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.
One of the most notable GDPR penalties happened in 2018 when British Airways paid $26 million in fines for having leaked 400,000 customers’ private information, including names, addresses, and payment card information.
Then again, data breaches can cause businesses to lose more than just money. Exposure of private data is harmful to brand reputation and can wipe out your customer’s confidence.
That’s why businesses of all sizes need to implement data wiping standards when disposing of their IT assets.
Exposure of private data causes more than just financial loss - it is harmful to brand reputation and can wipe out your customer’s confidence.
How to Implement Data Wiping and Erasure Standards?
If you are considering in-house data destruction, start by understanding your country's data protection law and sanitisation guidelines.
There are many data wipe standards for the secure removal of sensitive information, and each can be more suitable for different privacy scenarios or speed/ security balance.
In general, many organisations use one or both data sanitisation methods:
Cryptographic erasure - uses the native command to call a cryptographic erasure, which replaces the Media Encryption Key (MEK).
Software-based erasure - uses a software application to erase all data present on a hard disk drive or any other memory storage by adding pseudo-random data.
Determine which one is the best fit for your business. Establish a data management policy and procedure specific to your country's laws and your company’s data retention policy.
If you are a business operating in the United States, NIST 800-88 has become one of the go-to data sanitisation standards for the past few years.
But whether you choose NIST or other data wiping standards, make sure your company has the procedures outlined in a data destruction policy.
For example, encryption can be very effective, but encryption keys must be securely stored and managed to thwart attacks.
Additionally, make sure your organisation has formal documentation of the process to confirm that it is correctly applied from the beginning to the end.
This ensures that the data is securely removed and can present as evidence to the court if any questioning about the data arises.
Most current legislation concerning data management policies and procedures also requires formal documentation of all data retention and destruction activities.
Whether you choose NIST or other data wiping standards, make sure your company has the procedures outlined in a data destruction policy.
Get Secure Data Erasure from Trustworthy Experts
In light of the threat of data breaches, it does not matter how big or small your business is; you need to prioritise data security and privacy.
It goes without saying that data wiping is the most sustainable and secure way to remove data while reducing the harm to our ecosystem.
Whether your preferred standard is DoD or NIST, it is critical to make data wiping the standard for your business operations.
SPW Global is your trusted IT asset management partner. From data erasure and destruction to IT asset remarketing, we safeguard your data while protecting the environment.
Request a quote for your outdated assets or learn more about our data wiping capabilities.
We Have Your Back
Our secure IT asset disposal services provides the dependable solution you need for your e-waste and end-of-life asset needs. Our team applies safe and sustainable steps that are regulatory-compliant at every stage of the process.
From the point of collection, auditing, shredding and/or wiping to remarketing and/or donating your IT assets, you can be sure with our end-to-end services that we take your security seriously.
We have coverage against the loss of or damage to your goods during transportation. This includes marine cargo shipment from the ports to the warehouses
Our professional team of asset removers ensure your devices are packed safely into our vehicles which are also equipped with GPS-tracking systems. We have armed our warehouses with fingerprint-only access complete with security alarms and 24/7 CCTVs in place
Our reach spans across the globe through our networks of partners and vendors. Wherever your business is based, you can leverage our worldwide network and we would be happy to assist you throughout your ITAD journey
SPW is Asia's go-to solutions provider for data destruction, data erasure, IT asset remarketing, and environmentally-responsible IT asset disposals. Contact us and learn how you can incorporate an ITAD strategy into your business today.
