Thursday, July 13, 2006

Wipe Out

Some great tips on using a data disposal service to wipe and destroy hardrives and other storage media, including this nice little summary:

The Pros & Cons Using a disposal service can keep your data safe and keep you from running afoul of local, state, and national laws meant to protect the environment. It can also provide you with audit logs if HIPAA or Sarbox regulators demand them. But, as with all things, there are cons. First are cons in the oldest sense of the word, fly-by-night outfits that don’t follow intricate laws to the letter or tell you they’ll drill holes through your hard drives when they really plan to resell them. What’s the antidote? First, of course, is careful research—never give old equipment to a firm you don’t trust. Second is a rock-solid contract. Your disposal service should spell out its process in detail.


As I have mentioned before, I have worked with a company that uses a DoD wiping software and keeps a small drillpress at the tech bench. Five quarter-inch holes makes data recovery pretty discouraging.

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