If you’ve been searching for the most secure and cost-effective method of destroying your business’ information and digital media, you’ve no doubt come upon YouTube videos of digital media being crushed, smashed, axed and firebombed. Reminiscent of the old school used car ads in which salespeople would take sledgehammers to automobile windshields while screaming that they were “smashing prices”, the digital data destruction methods shown may seem funny but are just as nonsensical.

The truth is that IT asset disposition and digital media destruction is serious business, especially for companies that need to remain in compliance with PCI, HIPAA and other data privacy laws (See NIST 800-88)

When your customers and employees entrust you with their data and your company executives rely on you to ensure that the job of data destruction is done right, showing them an amusing video to explain the steps you’ve taken is not an option. You need to be able to provide detailed information about your selection process and the professionalism and responsibility of the company you’ve chosen.  Choose Certified Experts In Digital Media Destruction

NAID Certified in Digital Media Destruction Provides Knowledge, Experience, and Verification

There was a time when getting rid of old hardware was as simple as carting it off to an electronic recycling company, but the realities of data security and compliance laws have changed all of that. Whether your hardware consists of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones or enterprise equipment such as servers and storage arrays, you can no longer shake hands with a vendor and trust that they will shred your hard drives and dispose of your digital media properly. You need to verify that the job is done in compliance with HIPAA, PCI, and GLBA laws – and the best way to do that is to select a digital media destruction vendor that provides you with a detailed plan and the opportunity to witness and verify the process. You need to ask important questions before entrusting the decommissioning and recycling of your computer equipment and digital media. These questions include:

#1 What will be done with my hard drives and other digital media?

Companies that have made the mistake of entrusting the wrong data destruction vendors have found themselves featured news stories, their hard drives and equipment taken from vehicles and their data at risk. A data destruction company needs to provide appropriate security that ensures that there is no risk of data theft between the time that they take possession of your old equipment and the time that the digital media is destroyed.

#2 How can I be sure that my data will be permanently deleted?

There is a real need for certainty when it comes to fully and permanently deleting data. E-waste that has been carelessly disposed of has lead to numerous computer hacks and other negative outcomes: a recent report published by the Department of Health and Human Services says that thousands have been impacted by this type of carelessness, from organizations large and small. It is essential that a data destruction vendor provides you with a guarantee of complete hard drive destruction and permanent erasure of data.

#3 Is the data destruction process comprehensive?

It’s easy to forget about seemingly insignificant equipment such as tablets and smart phones, but valuable information that can be easily compromised is stored on these devices as easily as on personal computers. When you work with a professional data destruction company, they will pay attention to these details, putting together a comprehensive program that includes every aspect of your e-waste, including those items that are frequently overlooked.

#4 Providing verification and certification should always be part of any digital media destruction service.

Having worked with a trusted partner that provides an effective and comprehensive service is not enough when it comes to destroying digital data. When you are working with auditors, you also need a way to show them exactly what has been done. Only work with a company that is NAID Certified and can give you documentation showing proper destruction so that all compliance questions can be easily answered.

Data disposal and the hard drive destruction is essential to maintaining data integrity and security. Watching videos of equipment being smashed may be entertaining, but falls far short of providing an answer to how best to get it done. Contact us today for more information on our comprehensive, secure hard disk drive and digital media destruction and IT disposal services.