Data Security
In modern business, data security is essential for every company. Even the smallest business or sole-trader will need to work with customer data and have sensitive information like banking details and tax registrations saved.
For individuals, data security may simply be peace of mind for personal photos or important messages. However, personal details that could be used for identity theft or fraud are almost always found on digital devices, and these need to be secured properly when a device is disposed of.
Data destruction means more than just deletion. To fully destroy data, it must be unrecoverable, even to a determined actor. This can take many forms, from physically shredding a data-carrying device to using specialist tools or software to overwrite or erase the data-containing circuits.
No data destruction process can be absolutely relied on. Even if a drive is shredded, or a chip drilled, an organisation without enough manpower and money could be able to recover some information by dedicating thousands of hours and millions of pounds to the job. Data destruction is about best practices and taking steps to ensure that, by any reasonable measure, your data is gone.
Sanitation Standards
Data security for in-use devices is always evolving as encryption methods and network security develop. When it comes to data destruction at the end of the life of a device, the standards are more understandable. Data destruction standards generally focus on ensuring that a drive is processed according to a certain specification, and don’t specify the final outcome of the device.
HMG IS 5
The British Government’s Infosec Standard 5 is the current version of the data security standard used by the UK government, and specifies how devices carrying government secrets is handled. If it’s good enough for that, it’s good enough for anyone.
DoD 5220.22-M
This is an equivalent standard that is used by the US government. Because computer software and online resources can be more US-focussed, many services and software solutions will process in accordance with this standard.
Your Requirements
If you’re considering using a data destruction service as part of your WEEE (waste electronic and electrical equipment) process, you’ve already gone a step further than many others. We encounter hundreds of devices that have been ‘recycled’ and have fully intact data storage with the drives completely untouched!
By using a data destruction service, you can be certain that the correct processes are followed, the right care is taken, and the best policies are in place in case of the worst happening. While data destruction can be done ‘in-house’, there are risks involved which can result in false senses of security or other poor judgment calls.
Depending on the data you have, and what your clients’ data might be, your data destruction requirements might change slightly. However, the baseline for any data destruction is always the same, whether it’s your old personal tablet or your businesses’ server equipment.
Options
We provide secure data destruction for any storage device. Common devices like hard drives or solid state storage will be processed using industry-standard tools to ensure that your needs are met. If we’re not able to use those tools (for example if a drive isn’t operational or it’s a legacy media type) we will use physical destruction instead to guarantee your data is safe.
For some devices data destruction can be time consuming, whereas for others it can be almost instantaneous. This won’t change the level of security we can provide, but it will change how quickly we can get certificates to you. We provide a data destruction certificate for all clients, and can provide reports on a per-drive basis if required.