The data that you store is likely very important. It can contain sensitive company and customer information, as well as information with profitable potential. Businesses in particular are constantly store and saving mission critical files, databases, and documents. The problem is, a lot of the data we store can quickly become obsolete or redundant. And all of this data takes up a ton of space and can even bog down your systems. You may go through and regularly delete old or confidential files, as you should, but is it ever truly deleted?
This article will serve as a guide to help you truly destroy unwanted data, rather than just hiding it and leaving it vulnerable.
One solution, depending on the sensitivity of the information, is to destroy the hardware on which it is stored. When data is absolutely confidential, it may be best to store it on a hard drive that can then be physically destroyed when the information is no longer needed. Here is a link to a number of effective ways to destroy hard drives:
Another solution, if you’re not crazy about the idea of destroying hardware, is to save the information you would like to keep in a separate location, and then simply wipe the drive of everything else. There are different methods of wiping drives depending on the operating system, but they are all fairly straight forward. Doing this will return your drive to its original settings and remove all traces of data that were once there. You can then re-download the data you wish to keep.
Our recommended solution would be to use a professional IT services company for Data Destruction. This is usually a sub-service of IT Asset Disposition (ITAD). ITAD is the removal and disposal of all old, unwanted, or obsolete hardware and data.
While there are many important aspects of IT Asset Disposition, arguably the most important is the protection of sensitive data. Proprietary information, personal customer data, and other forms of data that need to remain confidential are under constant threat from cyber criminals. Time after time, there is yet another company making headlines for a breach in their network resulting in critical data being compromised and ending up in the wrong hands. The stories of sophisticated, coordinated attacks are all too familiar for any systems administrator, but there is a much simpler way for breaches to occur that may be overlooked; a hard drive containing this sensitive material is physically stolen.
Our on-site data destruction ensures that company and customer data will never leave your facility. Any privacy and security concerns can be addressed with proper data destruction of your hardware and software. Our team is sure to erase and destroy retired data to prevent security leaks and to free up your resources.
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Or call us at (315) 724-2209 and ask to speak to our ITAD expert!