Whitepapers
Data Loss Prevention
Managing the Final Stage of the Data Life Cycle Model
From the moment that information is created to the end of its usable life, we are accountable as custodians for ensuring that this information is secure. What had once been career limiting and publicly embarrassing data security breaches have now evolved to laws and punitive actions that can result in heavy fines, the incarceration of directors and serious public embarrassment.
In this document, we look at the issues and technologies surrounding the proper decommissioning of end-of-life storage devices and how you can add government-recognized, data sanitization technology to your Data Loss Prevention model.
DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPERAvoiding Self-Inflicted Security Breaches Through Effective Hard Drive Decommissioning
Inadequate Data Destruction Can Result in Lost Business, Reputation, Civil and Criminal Liability
Every business must evaluate its decommissioning strategies now to be certain they are not just compliant, but airtight. Inadequately decommissioned hard drives that result in data loss or data theft are self-inflicted security breaches that are easily preventable. A false sense of security can have catastrophic consequences for the company, its employees, customers and investors. Previously accepted decommissioning methodologies such as overwriting, degaussing and mechanical shredding must be reevaluated in lieu of their potential failures and vulnerabilities.
Given the financial and legal implications of non-compliance, an on-site, turnkey decommissioning procedure that can provide certification is essential to every business. EDT's Digital Shredder provides the best decommissioning solution, as it offers care, custody and control through every step of the process, and successfully addresses all major decommissioning concerns.
DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPERThe Limitations of Software Based Hard Drive Sanitization
The Myth of a Legacy Technology
The evolution of the hard drive from a storage device with external host-based controller, to a complex integrated device hosting controller and operational functions, dictates a necessary evolution in the means by which we sanitize storage devices that are to be decommissioned or repurposed. This migration of technology, as well as features present in the Operating System (OS) and host system BIOS design, pose limitations in the means by which the host device is capable of controlling the hard drive. With these control restrictions, software-based data destruction technology is limited in its ability to effectively overwrite all user accessible areas, and in many cases is unable to access and reliably process bad sectors or tracks.
Consequently, software-based technology is no longer favored as a recommended sanitization process due to its inability to effectively access and eradicate recoverable information from blocked bad-sectors and tracks, resulting in artifacts that can are recoverable using common data reconstruction software or other forensic technologies.
Recent recommendations published by NIST in their Special Publication 800-88 cites that proper decommissioning is achieved through purging legacy data, using technologies such as Secure Erase. Whereas, ‘Clear’ technologies, including software-based technology, are not an effective means to decommission hard disk devices of legacy data.
DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPER