The Do’s and Don’ts of Hard Drive Disposal
We’re currently living in a world where information is championed. Over a couple of years, technology and techniques that use data give out valuable insight for businesses to connect to their markets and consumers, policymakers to devise regulations, and researchers to find solutions for their respective fields. Ultimately, all forms of data are stored on hard drives, whether mechanical or solid-state. Sometimes, the data on them needs to be disposed of. Simply erasing it from your computer or smashing old ones won’t guarantee complete removal. Here’s what you need to look out for when disposing of hard drives properly.
Don’t Dispose of Them Yourself
When it comes to hard drives, there are mainly two types in use: Solid State (SSD) and mechanical (HDD). Mechanical drives contain discs that store information magnetically on their tracks. SSDs, on the other hand, store 1’s and 0’s in the form of charge. If you dispose of the data on your hard drives thinking that deleting them is enough, then you’re sadly mistaken. It may still reside in another track location or register. If any third-party agent gets a hold of them, they may retrieve the data easily. As a result, your confidential and sensitive information may fall into the wrong hands.
Don’t Leave them Lying Around
It may happen that your system may require you to upgrade old drives so that you can store more data or attain a faster bit rate. Many IT technicians just leave old ones lying around or throw them in the trash after their data has been copied onto new drives. This practice is highly discouraged, as, again, it leaves your data vulnerable. In this case, it’s best to secure them in a vault or archive that only authorized personnel have access to.
Let’s take a look at what are the bare minimum requirements for hard drive disposal instead of doing the actions described above.
Look for a Professional Disposal Service
While your hard drives are secured away from any malignant actors, you need to look for hard drive disposal services that specialize in this activity. They should have credentials regarding the service, such as those accredited by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). The services they offer are in line with international guidelines for complete data eradication from your hard drives.
Look for a Certificate of Destruction
When employing the services of a data disposal business, make sure you obtain a certificate of destruction from them. It is a document that verifies all the hard drives handed over to them for destruction and the mode of destroying the items. It serves as a receipt essentially, verifying that they are solely responsible for destroying the items with the utmost quality of work. Additionally, it holds them accountable as proof of services acquired in case of any wrongdoing or incomplete hard drive disposal. Sometimes a hard drive is completely shredded using industrial shredders. In this case, the certificate of destruction may not be required.
