Half of all Businesses Don't Erase Sensitive Data

Glenn Laga, President, Guardian Data Destruction. Independent Contributor to OurLIC for Business and Technology

Long Island City, New York June 13, 2011 - According to a recent survey on data wiping practices, less than half of businesses regularly deploy a method of erasing sensitive data from old computers and hard drives. Of the 49 percent of businesses that are systematically deploying a data eraser method, 75 percent do not delete data securely, leaving most organizations highly susceptible to data breaches, which plague businesses at least once a year according to this same survey. "Three-fourths of businesses are deleting files, reformatting or destroying drives, or 'do not know' how they are erasing sensitive data. Deleting files from a hard drive only marks the files to be rewritten, which may never occur. Furthermore, reformatting the drive only removes the entries in the index or table of contents that point to the data. None of these methods ensure that sensitive information is no longer on the drive," said Jim Reinert, vice president, Kroll Surveying more than 1,500 participants across North America regarding their data wiping practices, revealed that 4 in 10 businesses gave away their used hard ware and 22 percent do not know what happened to their old computer. In total, more than 60 percent of all old business computers are fully intact with proprietary business data in the second hand market. "In addition to helping companies achieve compliance with laws and regulations regarding data retention and privacy, data wiping is fundamental to reducing the risk of security breaches," added Reinert. "It is a must - regardless of the size of the organization - and needs to be incorporated into overall data security and business continuity plans." Data wiping solutions and Hard Drive destruction services from Guardian Data Destruction provide businesses with secure on sites solution to eliminating the risk of data leakage from off lease or end of life it equipment. "Reports that verify or confirm what the tool and/or service did are critical," concluded Reinert. "Not only do they inform you of what has been wiped, but they should identify the serial number,  make and model information of the wiped hard drive, the date and time of when the information was wiped, sector pass or fail and the technician how performed the services." Data Destruction as a Service Data security doesn't stop with network firewalls and anti-virus software. According to industry findings, 30 % of all data leakage occurs from idle and end of life assets.  This method of data leakage goes virtually unnoticed until the data is exposed.  Physical data protection policies and procedures are just a blip on the radar screen for most corporations and organizations.  The lack of attention to the security of the appliance holding the data is the cause of most leakage. Most companies do not realize the risk and exposure until it’s too late. Data leaks occur from the improper handling of idle, off lease or end of life assets with live data.  Returning or shipping equipment with live data is like shipping a legal time bomb. You will never know when it will explode and where the data will end up.  Properly erasing or destroying the hard drive before exiting the environment is the only solution that prevents this type of data breaches. New security requirements are addressing this risk, fortune 500 companies are setting the standards for on site data destruction for many industries.  They are requiring on site hard drive shredding and on site hard drive erasure for all assets exiting their corporate environment.   For related OurLIC NEWS article, go to:  Conversation with Glenn Laga, President, Guardian Data Destruction   If you would like more information regarding Data Destruction as a Service or reselling these services, please contact Glenn Laga with Guardian Data Destruction at glaga@guardiandatadestruction.com or 888 556 WIPE (9473).     For more information on Data Erasure, Hard Drives Destruction pleases contact:  Guardian Data Destruction O - 888 556 WIPE (9473) www.guardiandatadestruction.com Glenn Laga, President, Guardian Data Destruction. Independent Contributor to OurLIC for Business and Technology

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