Data Security During the Recycling Process
A company that discards old IT equipment without properly wiping its hard drives could be putting itself at risk of data breaches. Cybercriminals can access the information stored on these devices, and if it falls into the wrong hands, that information can be used to commit a wide range of crimes, from identity theft to ransomware attacks. According to a report by the National Technology Security Coalition, these kinds of cyberattacks are more common than ever.
This is one of the main reasons why it’s so important to work with a computer recycling services provider that knows how to protect its customers’ data and sensitive equipment during the recycling process. The right partner can ensure that all hard drives and other storage devices are wiped clean of all personal information before they’re sent for processing, and all other equipment is completely destroyed before it’s thrown away.
Secure IT asset disposal also helps organizations comply with regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and HIPAA in the U.S., as well as e-waste laws that many countries have in place. Taking these steps can help avoid data breaches and other compliance issues, while simultaneously contributing to environmental sustainability.
How to Ensure Data Security During the Recycling Process
But the question remains: how do you ensure that all these processes are executed correctly? The answer is to work with an experienced ITAD (IT asset disposal) service provider. A reputable company should have the tools and expertise to offer data erasure and other secure ITAD services that meet or exceed industry standards. A good way to test this is to ask potential ITAD providers about their data erasure and other sanitization methods.
There are many different ways to securely destroy IT equipment, including data erasure and degaussing. The former involves overwriting all of the stored data with random characters, which makes it impossible for anyone to recover any information from the device, while the latter involves exposing the hard drive or other storage device to a magnetic field, which effectively erases all of its contents. Companies should also look at whether their ITAD provider is certified with the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) AAA Certification, which is an international standard for secure data destruction.
Once all data has been wiped from a device, it’s ready to be recycled. But before sending it off for processing, a company should verify that its ITAD vendor has a thorough inventory management system and is committed to following the WEEE legislation and obtaining a Waste Carriers Licence.
This ensures that all hard drives and other storage devices are processed and disposed of according to the highest standards. It also helps protect the environment by ensuring that toxic materials such as flame retardants and lead, which are often found in electronic equipment, don’t get into soil or water. This is especially critical as these substances are known to negatively impact human health. To make sure that all this is in place, a company should always request proof of both the data erasure and the location where the resulting shredded material ended up being deposited for recycling.