A Comparison: WipeDrive Data-Wiping V Physical Destruction 15 May 2021
When it comes to data deletion, there are two primary options: data wiping or physical destruction. Here at Global EMEA, we know just how important data protection is to GDPR regulations, as well as to your company’s reputation. So, when considering which approach to use in deleting your data, it is critical that you choose the most secure and safe options. For us, that is data wiping with the help of WipeDrive.
WipeDrive Data Wiping
WipeDrive securely and permanently erases hard drives and other storage hardware. When your old IT assets and technology come to the end of their life, your next step is to retire or recycle each device. But, first, you need to guarantee that all your companies data, whether it is client information, company strategy, customer details, or other sensitive information.
Most Fortune 500 companies opt to destroy their retired hard drives physically. However, this approach to data deletion contains a number of security weaknesses. In the wrong hands, traces of this data can be detrimental not only to your business but to everyone who has had dealings with you. Make sure your reputation is protected, choose the most highly certified erasure tool and rest easy when your IT assets are no longer required.
WipeDrive data deletion software will permanently erase all data from the hard drive, including platter, SSD and NVMe drives. The methods this software uses makes data recovery impossible and has earned the coveted EAL 2+ certification.
Not to mention is WipeDrive more secure than physical destruction; it is more cost-effective and more environmentally friendly compared to shredding.
Greater Security
In using physical destruction methods to retire a hard drive, you are unknowingly subjecting your business’s private and sensitive data to a host of outsiders. Unfortunately, these methods involve several parties, from IT professionals at the company with the data to be destroyed to company liaisons with transport and transport service drivers, not forgetting the team of people involved in the data destruction company. The more hands your data passes through, the more at risk it becomes.
WhiteCanyon’s market-leading WipeDrive removes this risk. The software only requires one person to carry out the wipe; therefore, the chain of custody of the drive is far more secure than data destruction services. In keeping your data wiping method in-house, your company remains in control. And, consequently, customer trust is not put in jeopardy.
Cost-Effective
By wiping your old IT and mobile devices, your company has the opportunity to repurpose them to other areas of the business. Recycling these laptops, computers, and mobiles can save your company money on purchasing more technology. If the equipment is no longer needed, it is possible to sell the devices second-hand, knowing that the assets are safe and sanitised.
With physical destruction, reselling or reusing a device is simply not possible. This method of data wiping renders a hard drive unusable. Moreover, in comparison to WipeDrive software, physical data destruction services can be expensive. Rather than paying out to sanitise your device, you can wipe away the data and sell it on.
Environmentally-Minded
In addition to WipeDrive software being more economically viable, it is also an environmentally-friendly option. The majority of IT professionals are actively looking for another way to wipe data from their IT devices due to their toxic effect on our environment.
When hard drives are physically destroyed in order to remove sensitive data, the damaged device ultimately ends up in the landfill. Here, the computer’s hardware leaks toxic metals into the groundwater. By wiping away your data and repurposing or selling the device, your company is actively helping to reduce the amount of e-waste in our landfills.
Physical Destruction
If your company is unable to make the switch to data wiping software, then the most advisable approach is to have your own destruction options on site. In doing so, this can help to safeguard your chain-of-custody security by reducing the drive’s touchpoints until they can be properly destroyed.
In the simplest terms, the fewer people to handle your data before it is removed improves your ability to guarantee its security. However, if you can update your methods when it comes to retiring and reusing IT assets, we highly recommend data wiping.
WipeDrive meets and, in most cases, exceeds all major national and international standards of data deletion. Your company can benefit from its methods, get in touch with our sales team for more information today. Contact us on 0345 340 3105 or fill out the enquiry form on our website here.