Procedures for Sensitive Data Destruction

Server room in a data center

Data drives your company’s operations in today’s technology-driven business world, and you likely devote significant resources toward keeping it safe from outside eyes. But what about when it’s no longer needed? Whether you’re deleting unnecessary files or disposing of computers, servers, smart devices, or other unwanted electronic equipment, ensuring a secure data destruction process is essential.

WHAT DOES DATA DESTRUCTION ENTAIL?

Not to be confused with data disposal, which entails removing data from a device but not getting rid of it completely, secure data destruction wipes a device clean so it can’t be retrieved by an individual who takes possession of the device. Several different methods can be used for sensitive data destruction, including:

  • Clearing: This only makes data difficult to recover and doesn’t completely prevent it. It’s a method that can be used if a device is being transferred to another user within the organization.
  • Wiping: Also known as digital shredding, this method overwrites existing data.
  • Degaussing: This method of hard drive sanitation delivers a powerful magnetic pulse that destroys all information on a disk and is recognized by the National Security Agency (NSA) as an approved method of hard drive sanitization.
  • Destruction: Physical hard drive destruction through shredding or crushing ensures that data can never be reconstructed.

EQUIPMENT & DATA DISPOSAL POLICIES

To ensure that everyone within your organization follows data disposal and destruction best practices, your organization must have clear policies in place. These policies should identify the individuals who will oversee all data destruction and disposal, define best practices, and detail what should be done with devices that are no longer needed.

THE SECURE DATA DESTRUCTION EXPERTS

If your company doesn’t have a secure data destruction or disposal system in place, you could not only be vulnerable to an online breach but could also face stiff regulatory fines and loss of consumer trust. That’s where Cascade Asset Management enters the picture. We specialize in helping businesses in highly regulated industries like finance, healthcare, insurance, government, and education by ensuring that their unwanted IT assets are disposed of securely, so their proprietary information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.

Several factors have helped us become one of the most trusted IT asset disposition providers, including:

  • Our advanced certifications, including NAID AAA, ISO 9001:2015, and ISO 14001, and our listing in the Gartner Market Guide for IT Asset Disposition
  • Our 99% customer satisfaction rating, which reflects the lengths we go to ensure our customers are protected
  • Our focus on pursuing sustainable practices including computer recycling whenever possible

When you partner with us for IT asset disposition, you will have a variety of options once the sensitive data destruction process is finished. Your devices can be:

  • Returned to your company for redeployment
  • Resold through the Cascade Marketplace or wholesale channels
  • Donated to charity organizations
  • Recycled
  • Returned to a third-party owner

CONTACT CASCADE ASSET MANAGEMENT TODAY

Let Cascade Asset Management ensure that your company’s sensitive data remains protected. Contact us today to learn more about our secure data destruction and IT asset disposition services.