When your company upgrades its network, server or even all of the hardware in the office then you need to take careful steps to ensure all of the data on your old equipment is properly wiped and destroyed. This is essential to protect any information from within your business but also to comply with data protection regulations and ensure that your client’s data is kept securely.
Data destruction is a very sensitive issue and when your old equipment is obsolete it is understandable you want to get rid of it and replace it, but you need to be safe in the knowledge it is being done safely and securely, with no evidence of your data imprinted upon it. This is especially true when you choose to use a service where your equipment may be repurposed rather than simply destroyed. Before handing over your IT equipment for recycling consider these three points.
1. Have your Backed Up?
The IT department of your company should ensure the safe and smooth transfer of all necessary files from the old system to your new system and this should ensure that everything is backed up useful site. When it comes to individual employees you may want to send round an email to ensure they have backed up any files they may be keeping on their computers but as a rule in most companies everything is kept on the network.free hosting no ads
2. How Sensitive is your Data?
It could be that only a few of the users on your network actually have any access to sensitive data or it could be that everyone has this access. Data sensitivity is dependent on the individual too, some people may consider their passwords and addresses as important as their financial details and therefore it is important to treat all sensitive data in the same way and ensure nothing, not even a single document is left on your computer when you pass it on for recycling or destruction.
3. How are you going to dispose of your data?
Destroying the data on your computer is not something we recommend doing yourself as it doesn’t matter how many times you fill the recycling bin, there will still be traces of the data there. Using a professional service ensures that every element of the files is removed and at Buy IT Back we utilise blancco software which offers 100% secure data erasure and meets all CESG standards, ensuring all of your equipment is entirely data free, should we sell it on rather than break it down into parts.
We offer both Blancco government approved software for data erasure as well as hard drive shredding, which is sometimes required by company policy. We offer these services with certification and we provide free valuations so you can get a true understanding of how much your old equipment is worth and be sure that there is no trace of your data on any hardware you pass over to us.
