Data security is a huge concern for businesses and individuals alike. With all of the recent data breaches, it’s no wonder that people are concerned about their information being stolen. Businesses have a responsibility in terms of data security not only to themselves but also to their customers and clients.
It’s important to take steps to protect company data, but what happens when it’s no longer needed? What happens if you want to get rid of it completely?
In this blog post, we will discuss how sensitive data can be securely destroyed so that it can’t be accessed or used by anyone else, as well as why this is so important.
Why Secure Data Destruction is Important
As the world becomes increasingly digitised, businesses are collecting more and more sensitive data. This data can include everything from customer financial information to employee medical records.
If this data falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to identity theft, fraud and a loss of confidential business information. That’s why it’s essential for businesses to take data destruction seriously.
Secure data destruction ensures that sensitive data is irrecoverably erased, making it impossible for hackers or unauthorised individuals to access it.
By destroying data securely, businesses can protect themselves and their customers from the potentially devastating consequences of a data breach, and ensure the following:
- Maintain your company’s reputation
- Avoid fines and legal action
- Protect your networks and infrastructure
- Prevent theft of intellectual property
Maintain your company’s reputation
A data breach can have a devastating impact on a company’s reputation and damage the trust that customers have in the business. In today’s hyperconnected world, news of data being hacked can spread quickly, and customers may decide to take their business elsewhere if they feel that their personal information is not safe.
As a result, it is essential for companies to take steps to protect their data and their customers’ privacy. Once a data hack has occurred, it can be very difficult to repair the damage to your company’s reputation, so secure data destruction is vital.
Avoid fines and legal action
In the UK, data breaches can lead to hefty fines and legal action. The UK’s data protection law, known as the Data Protection Act 2018, imposes strict requirements on organisations that handle personal data.
If an organisation fails to meet these requirements and data is hacked, the organisation may be subject to a fine of up to £17 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is greater.
In addition, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can take legal action against the organisation, including ordering it to stop processing personal data or issuing a formal notice demanding that it improve its data protection practices.
As a result, organisations that handle personal data must take steps to protect that data from accidental or unauthorised disclosure, and this includes having a reliable data destruction process for secure data disposal.
Protect your networks and infrastructure
No organisation is safe from the threat of hacking. Even the most secure networks and infrastructure can be vulnerable to attack.
One of the important ways to protect your data and keep it out of the hands of hackers is to ensure that it is securely destroyed when no longer needed. Data destruction helps to prevent hackers from accessing your information and using it to their advantage.
By shredding or otherwise destroying data, you can rest assured that it will not fall into the wrong hands and be used to gain access to your networks and infrastructure. Secure data destruction is an essential part of keeping your organisation safe from hacking and other security threats.
Prevent theft of intellectual property
From personal information to trade secrets, the data stored on our networks and electronic devices contains a wealth of valuable information and this data is vulnerable to theft and misuse.
As well as endangering your business’s competitive advantage if the information gets into the wrong hands, a data breach can give hackers access to sensitive company information, which they could use to try and blackmail the company or its executives.
Ensuring that data is properly destroyed when it is no longer needed is important for protecting your company’s intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential information.
By taking steps to secure your data, you can help to keep your information safe from theft and misuse. Secure data destruction helps to prevent any sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
Different Data Destruction Methods
There are different methods for destroying existing data, which boil down to either data wiping or physical destruction. Data destruction can take place on site at your place of business or offsite, depending on what is most suitable.
Software erasure
Just deleting data is not enough and it can often still be accessed. Software erasure is a method for eradicating data from storage media which involves overwriting the information with pseudo-random data over and over. This makes data completely unrecoverable and eliminates any trace of the information held.
Recycling Your IT uses software called Blancco Drive Eraser. This enables us to erase information from drives either at your place of business or on a bigger scale at our own premises.
In addition, HM Government’s Communications Electronic Security Group (CESG) has approved the tools we use for this purpose, so you can be absolutely sure that the job is being done properly.
Hard drive physical destruction
The physical destruction of hard drives to destroy the data they contain is less environmentally friendly than software erasure as the drives cannot then be reused. However it is still the preferred method for some companies and so we do still offer the option.
This method usually requires taking the IT equipment to our secure location for physical destruction of the hard drives and any data bearing equipment.
We can however use portable hydraulic equipment to physically destroy data bearing equipment on your premises. This can be mounted in a vehicle and operated from a carpark or similar nearby.
Should you destroy data on site or off site?
You may be wondering whether it’s better to have your data destroyed on site or off site.
Off site data destruction is the quickest and most cost effective solution for destroying your data. Your IT equipment will be taken back to our secure location and the best method chosen for destroying the data, depending on your requirements.
On site data destruction is a premium option for those clients who want to actually see their data being destroyed for themselves. At Recycling Your IT we have the equipment, software and technical know-how to provide this service at your own place of business.
For on site data destruction we can either use the Blancco Drive Eraser software or use a mobile hard drive shredder (which can fit through your doorways) to destroy drives. Alternatively the work can be done using the mobile device in one of our vans parked at your premises.
Ensuring Data Destruction Compliance
Simply deleting data is not enough, and you also need to ensure that any data destruction services you use are suitably certified and offer an audit trail.
An audit trail is a record of all activity relating to the destruction of data. This record can be used to satisfy compliance requirements and to provide peace of mind that your data has been properly destroyed.
In the UK, the law requires that certain types of data be destroyed in a specific way. For example, personal data must be destroyed in a way that ensures it cannot be recovered. An audit trail can help you satisfy these requirements by providing evidence that the data has been properly destroyed.
Why you need an audit trail
An audit trail can provide peace of mind as well as other benefits, including:
- Evidence of secure data disposal in accordance with UK law
- Compliance with regulatory requirements
- Satisfaction that your data has been securely destroyed
- A record of when data was destroyed
- A record of who initiated the data destruction process
- Details about how the data was destroyed
- A certificate of destruction upon request
An audit trail is an important element of any data destruction service. It provides evidence that the data has been properly destroyed, satisfies compliance requirements, and gives you peace of mind that your data is gone for good.
Our internal processes at Recycling Your IT are certified and accredited to give you the assurance that you will meet both your legal and ethical requirements for IT recycling as well as information security and data destruction.
Having continuously improved our services since we were first established in 2005, we have all of the relevant licences, certificates, registrations and approvals to provide an exceptional service to our clients.
By using Recycling Your IT for your data destruction requirements, you can be confident that we can be trusted to do the job properly and to exceptional standards.
You deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business data has been securely destroyed. Why not get in touch or get a quote from us today?
One of our helpful experts can discuss your needs with you and guide you to choose the most suitable method of data destruction, align your internal processes with outgoing inventory audits that might take place and satisfy compliance requirements.