5 Tips For Safe & Securely Disposing Of The Data

Irrespective of industry or size, companies today rely on data to drive their businesses. Data becomes the major asset of any company. A company that keeps its sensitive and confidential data safe on tapes, hard disks, and other media devices will remain competitive. However, if they fail to store or dispose of their data safely, it brings unwanted issues and headaches for the organization. 

Every company should have a data disposal policy or be well-versed in secure data destruction and disposal. Or else, they could leave themselves vulnerable to stiff fines, security incidents, damage to the brand, and loss of consumer trust. So, are you thinking about how to dispose of data safely? If yes, then you can take access to these tips.

How to dispose of data securely

• Clearing and purging

One of the best ways to safely dispose of your business data is clearing and purging. These two procedures are associated with NIST 800-88 standards that ensure IT assets dispose of their data content safely. Clearing prevents other users from recovering data with the help of software and overwriting. 

On the other hand, purging prevents others from recovering day using specialized and modern laboratory techniques. Usually, clearing involves overwriting the hard drive. Purging is similar to clearing, but it includes executing the internal hard drive commands.  

• Hard drive destruction

Another safest way to dispose of the company’s sensitive day is by destroying the media storage devices. You can use any one of the following methods to destroy the hard drive data securely and quickly securely.

• Degaussing

It utilizes a strong magnetic field to rearrange the structure of the hard drive disk [HDD]. Once the HDD is degaussed, it is not useful anymore. 

• Puncturing

It is the physical process of destruction where drives place into the machine and punctured with multiple pins to destroy data present inside the chip.

• Shredding

It is similar to puncturing, but the hard drives are physically shredded. 

• Maintain the records

During data disposal, you should maintain wiping, decommissioning, or destruction records for compliance purposes. In addition, you should ensure that you do not have any IT assets misplaced either before or after disposal. If you cannot maintain proper records, you can leave this task to the company offering a secure & certified data destruction service. They will handle everything properly.

• Destroy SSDs

You have to use built-in sanitization commands or physical destruction to safely dispose of the data available on the SSDs (solid state drives). If you are going to reuse the device within the company, you can go with built-in sanitization commands. Or else, physical destruction is the best way to remove the data and ensure the information cannot be recovered. 

• Hire data destruction company

Whether you do not have time to destroy the information or have doubts about doing everything properly, you can seek the help of a data destruction company. Since they have tremendous experience disposing of the organizations’ data, they will do it appropriately using the reliable method. They follow the data and regulatory policy to keep you away from hassles. By knowing the type of data to remove, they use the best method for disposal purposes.