Most companies have switched to digital data instead of keeping paper files. Doctors, lawyers, banks and many other professions now store files on the computer. Eventually, a computer becomes obsolete or it dies and companies replace the computers with new computers. Even if you format the hard drives on the computers being thrown away, data thieves could still get information that was stored on the hard drives.
Not all hard drives can be degaussed or erases. Degaussing hard drive only works if the drive is magnetic. Solid state hard drives are not magnetic, thus are not able to be degaussed. Solid state drive sanitation is not always reliable, either. The only way to ensure that the data is not accessible is secure hard drive destruction by a licensed shredding company such as Carolina Shred.
To understand the benefits of hard drive destruction, you must understand hard drive destruction. Since some drives cannot be wiped completely clean, you'll have to shred those drives. Instead of trying to figure out which type of sanitation or degaussing programs will work, simply have the drives destroyed by a hard drive shredding service.
What is hard drive shredding? A mechanical device cuts the hard drive platter into several small pieces, thus severing each platter on the drive. If all of the platters are destroyed, no hacker could possibly get the data off the hard drive. Some people think that if they drill holes in the hard drive, that will be enough. However, you'd have to drill enough holes – hundreds – to destroy all of the platters on a drive.
The shredders at Carolina Shred cuts and shreds metal hard drives into very small pieces. The shredder then compacts the hard drive to make it completely useless. The data is not recoverable by any means. Just think of what a wood chipper does to branches and brush. This is much the same, except the pieces are much smaller than the resulting wood chips.
Because of the resulting particles from shredding hard drives, the shredding company must take environmental precautions. The particles may be toxic.
HIPPA and FACTA privacy laws protect electronic information, but they do not cover stealing information off of obsolete hard drives. Those who buy used computers often do so just for the purpose of taking the information off the hard drives. Those hard drives, even if they have been sanitized or degaussed, may still have information on them. Even if some of the information is erased, that one piece of information that wasn't could give a hacker all he or she needs to break into your system or to steal your clients' identities.
In today's day and age, data protection is one of the most important aspects of your business. Hackers want to profit off everything from confidential client information to company secrets, such as secret recipes or patents that are being worked on. The consequences of allowing data to fall into the hands of unscrupulous people are high and could include anything from fines to the destruction of your business.
When looking for hard drive shredding in your area, contact Carolina Shred. You'll definitely mitigate security risks by shredding those old hard drives. We'll provide secure pickup and transportation of your hard drives. We comply with all of the environmental regulations involved in shredding hard drives and we will provide you with a certification of data destruction. Whether you have one or several hard drives to destroy, contact us to arrange for digital media and document destruction.