10 Reasons to Shred Your Hard Drive
Unlike modern cloud servers, physical storage devices, like hard drives, can leave data exposed, if the data is not properly destroyed. Simply throwing them away can leave sensitive information accessible to hackers, as well as potentially contaminate the environment and violate compliance regulations.
Today, we are going to cover 10 key reasons why hard drive shredding is a great solution for disposing of old physical storage devices. Let’s first examine the common drawbacks of data destruction software.
1: Software Data Destruction Software Lacks Tangible Destruction
For some clients, seeing is believing. Data destruction using software to erase the data is a responsible form of data destruction when done correctly but lacks the tangible proof of physical destruction. As a NAID AAA certified vendor our software data destruction procedures include both the erasure of the data and then verification of the erasure using a completely different program. While software erasure has sustainable benefits, if you prefer a tangible form of data destruction for your data security, physical shredding is a better option.
2: Your Old Hard Drives Might End Up Overseas
Approximately 10-40% of all e-waste produced in the United States is sent overseas. Beyond the environmental and health impacts this issue can pose to communities in other counties, this can also increase the chances of someone finding and recovering the information in your old hard drive. If your old data is accessed and manipulated from the other side of the world, it may prove impossible to identify the parties responsible and reach a solution.
3: Hackers Look For Old Hard Drives
Novice and experienced hackers alike seek out old hard drives in an attempt to access any remaining personal data. They may try to recover them from a curbside junk pile, thrift store, retail outlet, or online listings. These hard drives can prove a cheap goldmine for them if personal data is still accessible.
4: Your Industry May Require Thorough Data Destruction
Depending on the industry your business serves, there could be regulatory compliance mandates that require thorough and complete data destruction. For example, the medical industry is heavily subjected to HIPAA laws. If patient data is accessed by unauthorized third parties, this could result in hefty fines that any executive wants to avoid.
5: Protect The Environment From E-Waste
Old hard drives are a form of e-waste. Because computers often contain plastics and heavy metals, burning them or letting them accumulate over wet soil can cause environmental contamination. By shredding a hard drive, you can play an important role in helping to remove more e-waste from the globe.
6: Shredding Makes Hard Drives Completely Inaccessible
Hard drive shredding is the most thorough method for ensuring that your old data becomes completely inaccessible. In most devices, the hard drive can be removed without rendering the rest of the system unusable. New hard drives are relatively inexpensive to purchase and easy to install. If you are planning to sell an old device, you can remove and shred the hard drive for a new buyer to add their own later.
7: The Materials Can Be Scrapped and Reused
The metals used in manufacturing hard drives can be scrapped and reused for new products. This ensures that metals are removed from junk piles and can be recirculated, which can help address supply chain needs in countless industries.
8: Prevent Data Breaches
Businesses that store old hard drives or dispose of them without shredding can leave themselves open to data breaches. Beyond responsibility to protect your organization from data breaches, you also have a fiduciary responsibility to your customers to ensure their personal and/or financial data remains secure. With shredding, you can ensure you are doing right by your company and those that conduct business with it.
9: Complete Peace of Mind
When you shred an old storage device, you can enjoy the complete peace of mind that your data remains protected and wholly inaccessible. Backing up your old data to a cloud server can also provide future access to these old files in case you need to recover them at a later date.
10: Professional Hard Drive Shredding Services Are Available
Now that you have heard about the benefits of hard drive shredding, you might be wondering “how do I do it?”. Unfortunately, you cannot shred a hard drive like a piece of paper or an old credit card. At ProTek Recycling, we offer professional hard drive shredding services to commercial businesses throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Our team possesses the tools and knowledge to ensure that your old data storage device is shredded and rendered completely inaccessible in the future. We also provide a certificate of destruction to document your information’s destruction!
To learn more about safely hard drive shredding your old hard drives, contact us today for a free quote.