The most crucial facet of any business is the ability to protect enterprise data. The rapid increase of technological advances has catapulted the world into a digital age, which requires more stringent data security protocols to ensure data is protected throughout an asset’s usage. However, when IT assets are retired, data security and assets often become an afterthought if a proper disposition plan is not in place. Data erasure is the only way to ensure data is completely protected after asset retirement. IT asset disposition (ITAD) providers include data security in end-of-use needs and offer erasure services to protect data even after assets are retired.
Importance of Data Erasure
Data erasure involves permanently removing data from storage devices to prevent unauthorized access, reducing the risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and other threats. Data erasure is critical for protecting sensitive enterprise and employee data, but it also ensures regulatory compliance and maintenance of ethical responsibilities. Without it, a myriad of issues may arise.
Last month, former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees were notified via email that their government-issued devices would not be physically collected. Instead, the IT equipment would be wiped remotely and “marked as disposed of” to “simplify processes and reduce burden.”
Retire-IT founder Kyle Marks emphasized the error, calling the decision “reckless, both from a data security perspective and environmental perspective,” especially after a recent case of device theft from a government-contracted ITAD firm and a recent audit that highlighted weaknesses in the federal ITAD systems at the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
According to Marks, Remote wipes are a “useful defense layer”. Still, they should be considered an emergency measure, such as for a device left behind in a hotel room or stolen, as they are not 100% reliable and require an internet connection and administrative access to the device. Marks also pointed out that in a case such as this, of employees who have already been laid off and given advance notice of the remote wipes, Marks said, “you’ve lost the element of surprise.”
Without proper data destruction, personal records, financial records, employee and enterprise records, and more are at risk.
Data Security & Erasure with an ITAD Partner
Data security should be a top priority throughout the disposition process. Data remains on a device until it is properly wiped, and leaving IT assets anywhere with residual data still on the device puts enterprise and employee data at risk of data theft. ITAD providers offer data security services, including data erasure, to ensure no data leaks occur during disposition. HOBI offers onsite data erasure in several data security stages to safeguard enterprise data, using an internally developed data erasure tool, HOBI Shield, that completely wipes data from a device. Any hard drives that cannot be entirely erased are destroyed via shredding technology.
For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com.