Month: January 2023

You may know that it’s crucial to remove information from hard drives before disposing of them- but do you know the ins and outs of what that means? At Securis, we have the answers. 

What’s the Best Way to Destroy a Hard Drive?

There are two common ways to destroy hard drives and render the confidential information that remains on them inaccessible: degaussing and shredding.

Degaussing Hard Drives

Degaussing hard drives can be the first (or only) step in data destruction. The degaussing process erases data, changing the magnetic domain in which data is stored. Using magnets, it scrambles stored information so it can not be retrieved. Keep in mind that degaussing does not work for solid state drives (SSDs). A previous Securis article contains information on destroying SSDs. 

Shredding Hard Drives

Shredding hard drives ensures that all information is totally destroyed and rendered unusable. By completing this as a stand-alone service or following degaussing, you can be positive that your confidential information has been completely destroyed. Not only does this guarantee total data destruction, but you can be sure that degaussed hard drives will not be confused with hard drives that still have data on them. 

Solid state drives are destroyed by microshredders so they do not slip through the cracks in a regular hard drive shredder.

Can Information be Retrieved from a Shredded Hard Drive?

There is no way to retrieve information from a shredded hard drive if the correct shredding process is followed. By grinding and shredding, materials like magnetic fields and magnetic tapes can no longer be put back together in order to recover information. 

How Much Does it Cost to Shred a Hard Drive? 

For residential customers, our Virginia locations hold monthly drop-off events where hard drives can be shredded for $5 each or $10 if they are still inside a computer. 

For our corporate customers, we know that data security is vital, so we provide various hard drive shredding services. If chain of custody issues are of concern, we can bring our mobile shredding truck on-site for supervised destruction. 

We also offer off-site shredding to those who need assurance that their assets will be destroyed appropriately but need the equipment out of their office or space quickly. With either service, Securis will provide a certificate of destruction for reporting purposes. Prices vary depending on the services needed. 

Did you know January 28th is Data Privacy Day? While the rest of the world may be celebrating, at Securis,  every day is Data Privacy Day. The Securis mission is to securely repurpose electronics. In order to do so, all data that remains on end-of-life computers, laptops, servers, and more must be completely destroyed. Businesses, governments, and individuals are all at risk of having their confidential data compromised without a secure, end-to-end data destruction process in place.  

Much of the discussion around data privacy revolves around sharing information online. While it is important to keep in mind, it’s also important to know that your physical electronics store sensitive data. 

Everybody should be aware that they have the power to take ownership of their personal information and digital identities. The National Cybersecurity Alliance encourages consumers to learn about what information they are sharing online. Let’s take that one step further and make sure we know what information we are storing on our phones and computers. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 81 percent of Americans believe they have very little to no control over the data that’s collected by businesses, and 78 percent are very concerned about how the data is used when it is collected. Businesses should be concerned about their employees’ and customers’ information when they are disposing of their end-of-life equipment. 

We know that customers have had their information compromised at a multitude of organizations like Morgan Stanley, T-Mobile, PayPal, and many more. Are you doing what you can to keep your customers safe? If you’d like to ensure that your information is safe when it’s time to discard old technology, be sure to learn about our federally compliant data destruction process. 

When your phone gets old, becomes out of date, or starts to break, it’s time to decide whether to sell it or trade it in. You might hit the factory reset button, thinking your information is safe. However, your Android may contain some very private information!

Think about what’s on your phone – social security numbers, saved passwords, tax information, and more. In order to ensure that none of your personal information is compromised, it’s important to recycle your smartphone properly.  Using a certified R2 ITAD company with data destruction services keeps your information safe.

“Reset” Phones Still Contain Sensitive Data

Avast purchased 20 used Android phones from eBay that were reset using the manufacturer’s recommended settings. After using an “off-the-shelf digital forensic file,” it recovered more than 40,000 pieces of personal and sensitive data, including photos, emails, texts, and even the previous user and their contacts. Users believed they had erased all data by using the factory reset option, but their sensitive information was all still available. 

Why Do Reset Phones Still Contain Personal Information?

Your phone has been reset to your manufacturer’s settings. So, how is information still being recovered? Avast discovered that the operating system was removing and deleting information from files and showing it as free, but in reality, it remained on the drive or storage card. 

What Avast found was that the hard reset on the phone was not actually occurring, and user information could be recovered.  

Android Recycling: Good for Protecting Personal Information and the Environment

How you’ll make this decision depends on what you want to do with your device when you replace it. If your device is broken, your best option is to recycle it. An IT Asset Disposition company will recycle your phone and protect your data by totally erasing it. By shredding the SIM card or storage card, you can be certain that your data will be inaccessible.

At Securis, we ensure that all phones and other electronic devices are completely wiped of all data and information before we remarket or recycle the materials. Data erasure is vital prior to upcycling anything. By reselling phones, we help keep electronic equipment out of landfills. 

If that still makes you apprehensive, shredding is an option to provide total physical destruction. By shredding the SIM card and any parts that contain personal information, total destruction is guaranteed. Let us know how we can help you protect your personal information by contacting us here.