Tag: secure data destruction

  • Protect Your Information with Secure Data Destruction

    Protect Your Information with Secure Data Destruction

    Privacy is very important. You need to make sure you keep your information safe. You should never share important details about yourself to people you don’t trust. Even if there’s no apparent threat to your data, you should still avoid leaving traces of your information anywhere. Another thing you can do to safeguard private information is to practice secure data destruction.

    Any type of data that is important to you must always be secured. All information is important, but that doesn’t mean you should always keep them around. Keeping and preserving such information can become a liability to you and your company. And if this important data is no longer in use but is still confidential, you need to be smart enough to erase them.

    People share and gather data every single day. You use your basic information to log in to servers and websites for personal and professional purposes. With data being passed around so freely, you need to make sure those who have access to your information are only those parties that you allow.

    In certain cases, it becomes necessary to remove your data from certain servers and devices. This is to make sure no one can use any residual information against you. Although losing all your data might seem like a loss, you really have no other choice if it means protecting your privacy or getting compromised. When it comes to business, there will be times when you will need to destroy every data left in your system. This is a way to make sure no company information will be fall on the wrong hands.

    Masking Method with Madness

    The idea of having to destroy something doesn’t always spark joy. It means you might have to ruin something that took a lot of time and effort to make. In business, there will be times when you will need to switch to new systems and media platforms. This comes with the responsibility of having to erase any remaining information from your old system as to not have it fall to the wrong hands. You can call this method as data destruction.

    Data destruction is the process of clearing, eradicating, and making sure that any and all data in a system becomes impossible to reread and reuse. This process helps businesses make sure that no other party can retrieve their files and use them for personal gain.

    In an age where almost every business relies on technology to process and store every aspect of their operations, you need to make sure all your data is protected. And when they are no longer relevant, they must also be properly disposed of. It is a smart decision to destroy data that may no longer be needed. This unused information may no longer be relevant to your company, but that doesn’t mean you’re free to share it with anyone. This can still be utilised by other entities for illicit transactions.

    The Right Path to Ruin

    You may think that secure data destruction is the same as literally destroying your device to get rid of all information. That’s sort of true. But that’s not the only way to do things. You don’t have to go so far as to get your equipment smashed to bits. Plus, there are still tech-savvy individuals who can collect information from the broken pieces of your system.

    What you need to do is make sure you leave no traces of your information in your system. Deleting your files from your computer is not enough. You need to follow certain methods to make sure your systems are clean. This is especially necessary when you plan on changing and upgrading your systems. To clean out your system, you need to know the different approaches used for data destruction. Here are some methods used to have a clean system.

    Reformatting

    Reformatting and deleting files from a device is one of the most basic methods of data destruction. Although it doesn’t really fully erase the file from the system, it is however a good start. After doing this, you may need to do other precautionary measure to ensure that your files are completely erased.

    Overwriting Data

    Overwriting is the process of covering the code of a certain file with a pattern of ones and zeroes. Overwriting can be done more than once to make sure that the data is really deleted. The pattern you overwrite does not need to be random. Overwriting does work, but it takes quite a while to achieve.

    Degaussing

    Computers and other devices rely on electricity to function. That is why degaussing is a trusted method for data destruction. This process includes using strong magnets to disrupt the magnetic fields around a device. Although it is effective, it does make your device impossible to reuse.

    Physical Destruction

    Physically destroying a device will of course get rid of a lot of data. It makes a lot of chips hard to read and not usable. If a device is fully, and completely smashed, you can be sure that no data is saved. This will cost you a lot of money though. And you’ll have to say goodbye to your whole system.

    Your information should never reach the wrong people. That is why you should practice secure data destruction. If you don’t think you’re able to handle this on your own, there are professional data destruction services that can help you out.

  • Data Erasure Vs. Data Destruction: Differences You Should Know

    Data Erasure Vs. Data Destruction: Differences You Should Know

    If you are looking to let go of your computers, servers, or any data-storing devices or pieces of equipment, secure data erasure is extremely important. Whether you’re the owner of a personal device or you manage a fleet of business IT assets, you’ll need your data thoroughly wiped before you either dispose or sell them.

    What is Secure Data Erasure?

    Secure data erasure is one of the three methods to achieve data sanitization and although used interchangeably with secure data destruction by some people, it is slightly different than data destruction. I will explain the differences between these terms in a while. For now, let’s explore what data erasure is.

    Data erasure is a software-based overwriting which is used to clear the contents of a hard drive or any storage device that completely deletes the contents of the media irrecoverably. Deletion commands only remove the file but until that location of deleted data is not occupied by new data, it can be recovered by the software. You know what? Let’s Dive DEEPER! I will make sure you understand this in detail.

    Basically, digital data is stored as a series of 0’s and 1’s across the hard drive and when you delete the files, the files are not completely eradicated. Until that space is not occupied by new files (new series of 0’s and 1’s), that file is still recoverable using the software.

    The process of data erasure entails software-based overwriting and iterative verification to truly see if the deleted data has vanished or not. So, data erasure is the process of software-based overwriting that removes the contents of a drive beyond recovery and backs that up with a certificate.

    What is Secure Data Destruction?

    As the name suggests, data destruction is the process of destructing the data contents of a disk drive. Now, there are several ways to do it. One simple way is to just shred the drive into a fine powder. You can degauss the drive using a strong magnet and completely remove their data. Technically, data erasure is also a method of data destruction. In this respect, you can consider data destruction as an umbrella term that covers all methods of data destruction.

     If you know everything about secure data destruction, now go ahead and learn why data erasure and data destruction are different concepts. However, if you feel like you want to go down the rabbit hole, there’s a detailed blog that covers everything about this topic. Go ahead and see this blog about Secure Data Destruction.

    Also read: The Best Hard Drive Destruction Methods That Work

    Secure Data Erasure Vs. Secure Data Destruction: Key Differences

    Secure Data Destruction 

    Secure Data Erasure

    Data destruction is the process of destructing the data present in a storage device by any method.Secure data erasure is a software-based overwriting that ensures that no data can be recovered 
    Data destruction may not necessarily accompany certificates of destruction.Data erasure is backed by a certificate that a company attests to the complete irrecoverability of the data.
    Data destruction methods such as physical destruction and degaussing render the device completely useless for use.Data erasure is a method that destructs only the data and ensures the device’s usability.

    Usually, data erasure is a more flexible method but sometimes organizations might require options for data destruction as well. It all depends on the kind of requirement, the number of devices, and the constraints of the organization.

    Personal or Consumer Concerns Related to Data Erasure

    Why don’t I just delete my files?

    While the words “delete” and “erase” may technically be synonyms, they are not the same when applied in the context of data destruction. When you delete your files, you simply make it inaccessible to the user. However, data recovery is still possible if special techniques and software are implemented. It is safe to say that file or data deletion is simply temporary. When you need to free up your memory or organize your files, that’s when deleting is best.

    Erasing data using a certified data erasure software irrecoverably deletes the contents of the storage device. The process removes them from the device as if they were never there in the first place.

    Why isn’t a Factory Reset Enough?

    If you are planning to decommission your business’ IT assets, proceeding without data erasure may result in a data breach as data can be recovered even after the physical destruction of the storage device. Mobile devices have flash memory, and with a factory reset, the contents of the chip itself may still be there, but the operating system (or you) will not be able to see it. Again, it would take expert hands to recover those files, but they are recoverable unless secure data destruction or erasure has been achieved.

    What about a Hard Drive Format? Would that do the Trick?

    Similar to the effects of a factory reset, formatting your hard drive may not remove the data still stored in your computer or laptop. Though there would be extra steps needed to access that data, data recovery is still possible as the data is intact even after formatting until rewritten.

    The purpose of a format is to take out the device’s file system so that a new one can be created – a good way to think about it is that the original data may be ‘buried’ under the new file system. It’s invisible to the OS but it is technically still there. Consider using certified data erasure software to wipe your data so that it’s impossible to be recovered using any method.

    My laptop/cellphone/tablet/computer is beyond damaged. Should I still submit this for data wiping?

    If you are planning to throw it away or send it to a recycling facility, then yes, the best thing to do would be to submit the device for data wiping. You should at least consult with an IT specialist for a recommended data erasure software to achieve data security (they likely will).

    Your device might be so damaged that the data could be unreadable – but this is unlikely as electronic devices are a lot smarter than we thought! If yours is a personal device, time spent on the data erasure shouldn’t take too long, especially when the best resources are used and you’ve got a qualified specialist doing the work.

    Business Concerns Related to Data Erasure

    Why is Professional Secure Data Erasure Important for Us?

    If you are planning to decommission your business’ IT assets, proceeding without data erasure may result in a data breach. If you sell or dispose of your servers, for example, without having data erasure performed on them first, you would be exposing the sensitive data of your clients, employees, and company as a whole.

    Data breaches have caused serious trouble for plenty of businesses – identity theft, credit card fraud, wire fraud, or other types of data-related crime. In the worst cases, data may even be held for ransom, similar to ransomware attacks. There’s plenty at stake when it comes to data security.

    We need to upgrade our IT assets but we do not want to lose our data. Would a data backup be included in the process?

    Yes, that can certainly be arranged, most likely with the same provider you sought for your secure data destruction. If data needs to be moved to your new servers or devices, they will likely be backed up first before the original data in the old assets will be erased.

    In the same way that information from hard copies dated decades ago was transferred to today’s digital storage systems, digitally stored information can always be transferred to assets you believe are of better quality or are more up-to-date.

    We are not confident with selling our IT assets even after secure data destruction. What can be done about them?

    If you choose to dispose of your old IT assets instead, the best way to do so is to submit them to a recycling facility. They will be disassembled and picked apart – materials such as copper or metal can still be used to create other pieces of equipment.

    Eco IT Solutions Can Provide Secure Data Erasure for You

    Whether it’s a personal device or a business asset that needs data wiped off, we at Eco IT Solutions have got you covered. With our data erasure software Blancco, you can rest assured that your sensitive information won’t fall in the wrong hands.

    Ask us about our services today. You may call us on 02 8055 3775 or email us at info@ecoitsolutions.com. You may also contact us through our website’s inquiry form.