Secure Data Destruction

Every organization, from small businesses to large global corporations and governments share one commodity. That commodity is its private data. This information is critical to its daily operations, liability, and plans for its future. Financial information such as accounts and tax details, social security numbers, proprietary research data etc. could prove to be very difficult to replace if lost. But what if this critical and sensitive information was stolen off your old computers that were not disposed of properly? What if your financial, tax or payroll information was compromised? What if your employees Social Security numbers were recovered or your research data for a new product you planned to launch next year was leaked? How much would it cost you to repair the damage done?
What are some types of vital data found in your company's hard drives?

Financial information
Social Security numbers
Medical History
Tax details and records
Payroll and personnel data
Proprietary Research data
Contract Cost Estimates

By not carefully managing the data that resides on your company’s computers when you are disposing of them may expose you to these risks. The theft or recovery of this information could cost you millions, you may also be subject to lawsuits and fines which can tarnish the company’s reputation. Potential and current clients may find it difficult to do business with you if they feel that their information will not be secure.

When deciding how to handle the proper disposal of your computers and electronics that have reached its end-of-life, it is pivotal that you deal with a company that can safeguard your data. You must choose a company that will not simply ship your hard drives across seas, but one that guarantees that no one can retrieve your vital information. And when doing so you would choose an organization that will document your data’s destruction.

Identity theft statistics are collected from police reports, although a large percentage of cases are still not reported to law enforcement agencies, so exact numbers impossible to determine.

Up to 700,000 people in the United States may be victimized by identity bandits each year, according to the Justice Department*. Recent reports now talk about 10,000,000 victims.

The Secret Service estimates that in 1997 consumers lost more than $745 million due to identity theft. These days it is probably in the billions. A recent report on identity theft warned that there is likely to be "mass victimization" of consumers within the next two years. The report said consumers should be extra careful to monitor all their financial transactions for unexplained account activity, especially withdrawals, or fund transfers.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. The average victim spends 175 hours and $1000.00 repairing the damage.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that identity theft is its number one source of consumer complaints. 42 percent of all complaints received in 2001 dealt with identity theft.
"Every 79 seconds, a thief steals someone's identity, opens accounts in the victim's name and goes on a buying spree." **

A study by Gartner Group reveals that 1 in 50 consumers have suffered identity theft. The survey also indicates consumers are so concerned about the problem that they are calling for changes in the way electronic transactions are performed.

According to the FTC's figures, ID theft is the most popular form of consumer fraud, in part because it is the most profitable. ID thieves stole nearly $100 million from financial institutions last year, averaging $6,767 per victim.

* Press release - 2002 Federal Trade Commission Study
** CBSnews.com, 1/25/2001

To the average user, simply pressing the delete key or dragging a file into the “recycle bin” may seem to be enough to get rid of your files. A few of you may even open your recycle bin and click “empty the recycle bin” to be extra sure your file is gone. Unfortunately, you didn’t delete the file. The data you thought you deleted is still there, perfectly intact and ready for anyone to recover it. How is this possible?

When you attempt to delete a file, all you are actually doing is deleting the reference to that section of the hard drive from the File Allocation Table. Basically, the computer is “tagging” that space on the hard drive as an available area for the computer to write new data to. It does not actually delete the old data at all! You can’t see it anymore. But that file is still there, completely intact, waiting for the computer to write something over it. To make matters worse, even when you do overwrite this area on your hard disk with new data….your information may still be recoverable!

A high-level formatting (herein referred to as “formatting”) of your hard drive is another method that many believe will safeguard their private data. Unfortunately, this type of formatting is really only meant to prepare a storage medium (in this case a hard drive) for reading and writing of data. When you format a disk, the operating system erases all bookkeeping information on the disk, tests the disk to make sure all sectors are reliable, marks bad sectors, and creates internal address tables that it later uses to locate information. Formatting a hard drive is akin to ripping out its table of contents. The files on the drive aren’t really destroyed, it’s just that the computer doesn’t have any meaningful directions on where to find a particular file anymore. As a matter of fact, there are several commercially available products that can recover most, if not all, of the information on the disk that has been formatted in this way.

Another method often employed to wipe data from a hard drive is called degaussing. This is a process that reduces the magnetic flux of a medium to virtual zero by applying a reverse magnetic field. If that’s a bit much for you to swallow, think of it as placing a really powerful magnet against the hard drive. Since your hard drives are magnetic in nature, you theoretically render the data unreadable. But is this a cost-effective solution? Does it really work?

The first real problem is that degaussing a hard drive can render it unusable. The process often destroys the drives timing tracks and servo motors, and usually demagnetizes the permanent magnet of the spindle motor on sealed drives. This is a horrible solution, especially if you would like to remarket your drives once it has been properly sanitized.

Also, the process of removing the hard drives from the computer, taking off the hard drive’s housing, degaussing and placing the hard drive back into the computer, and testing to ensure it still operates and no longer contains its original data, makes this option cost ineffective. This method should also be done only by qualified personnel. To make matters worse, degaussing still cannot guarantee that your data is destroyed. Unlike deleting or formatting, degaussing does actually alter every part of the hard drive platter.