28 Feb What Does Secure IT Disposal Look Like?
In a world of Data Protection, GDPR and data thieves, making sure your IT devices are handled properly has never been more important. More people than ever are aware of what can happen to data that falls into the wrong hands, and the cybersecurity and data destruction industries have been seeing the results. Secure IT disposal is now at the top of every business owners list, as they want to make sure they are compliant with GDPR and not at risk of a business-ending data breach. This means more and more businesses are looking for ways to dispose of their old IT equipment safely and securely. But they aren’t all sure where to start. So today we have a few tips and guidelines to help you create a secure IT disposal process for your business.
Identify Devices That Could Contain Sensitive Data
In our modern, hyper-connected world, it can sometimes feel difficult to find a device that doesn’t contain data of some kind. So when you’re looking at retiring an old device whether it’s a single unit or a complete IT overhaul, you need to work out if it stores any data at all before you can work out how to recycle or dispose of it properly.
A few examples of devices that could contain sensitive data include
- Personal Computers
- Hard drives
- Laptops
- Mobile phones
- Servers
- Games consoles
- Tablets
- Digital Cameras
- Removable memory devices
- TV’s
- Printers
The list goes on. Even data stored in the cloud is at risk from the devices that access it, so you need to make sure these devices are handled properly. The problem with all of these devices is that doing a factory reset won’t actually delete the data stored on them – just the index of it (we talk more about that in our previous post, which you can read here). So if you want to permanently delete the data stored there, you need some help.
For Devices That Couldn’t Contain Data
Of course there are some kinds of devices that simply don’t take or store any sort of data at all. Keyboards, mice and monitors don’t store any data whatsoever, so they don’t pose a risk to the business. You can refurbish them, repurpose them for other employees, sell them, or dispose of them safely using a WEEE registered destruction and recycling provider. It’s worth noting though that thanks to our growing digital world very few devices these days don’t have some form of chip or memory card, so it’s always worth checking and double checking before you give them to someone else. If you’re not sure, it’s better to treat them as if they do contain data.
For Devices That Could Contain Data
Now we move on to the important things – the devices that could or do contain any data of any kind. These devices need to be treated carefully, and need to have all of their data permanently erased before they are disposed of, in accordance with GDPR. The problem is, this isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially since a factory reset won’t delete the data. Even if the device is broken or faulty, that data will still be there, and needs to be removed properly. So, how do you make sure your data is actually gone?
If you have a lot of time, money and manpower to spare, you could probably securely erase all that data yourself. But most businesses just don’t have those resources to put into data destruction, and so they will outsource it. An outsourced data and IT disposal firm will be able to take all of those at-risk devices and securely wipe all traces of data from them. They will then be able to either refurbish the devices for resale, destroy them or recycle them so that the components can be used again. This is the ideal way to handle any devices that could contain confidential or sensitive data, as you will receive a certificate of data destruction that proves you followed data protection laws and confirms that your data was deleted in a safe and secure way.
At Charterhouse Muller, we help businesses dispose of their IT equipment securely and safely, removing the risk of data loss, theft or leakage. We handle the entire secure IT disposal process for you, so you can rest easy knowing it’s all in safe hands. To find out more, just get in touch with us today.