Your Guide to Certified Data Erasure Services

Published: January 6, 2021

Your company’s data is sensitive. A data breach could potentially be disastrous. Because of this, you need to ensure that deleting, erasing, and destroying data is done in the most secure, efficient way that’s also cost-effective. This is where hiring certified data erasure services comes in. Here’s what you need to know about data erasure services as you look for the right one for your business. 

Data Erasure Solutions 

When you need to eliminate data from your company’s servers, it’s a bit more complicated than hitting the “Delete” button. Data that is deleted or thrown into the trash can be recovered using various types of software. You want your private data to be gone forever and unable to ever be recovered. This is where certified data erasure services come into play.

These services offer a trustworthy solution to eliminating your data. They also do this according to guidelines, so they are using completely compliant methods. Some of the data erasure solutions these services use include software or digital data shredders. You’ll need a certified data erasure service to audit your data and discover what types of data you need to erase so they can provide you with the most effective data erasure solutions available.

Data Erasure Methods 

If you’re looking for secure data erasure solutions—but you’d also like to reuse the hardware your data lives on (such as an SD drive, HDD, or mobile tech such as a smartphone)—look for certified data erasure services that provide data deletion using some of the best data erasure software on the market. When data is removed using software, it’s effectively “wiped” from your hard drive. 

When your hardware is wiped, the data is completely gone according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). There is a second type of data erasure method. This method is removing data in a more physical way. For instance, if your business is updating its computers and you need to make sure the old technology doesn’t house your company’s private data, you would hire a certified data erasure service to physically shred, crush, or otherwise destroy the computers to ensure data could not be recovered. 

Benefits of Using Certified Data Erasure Services

You may wonder what the benefits of using data erasure services are when you can simply delete the data yourself or destroy the tech on your own time for less cost. There are several benefits to hiring a data erasure service. 

• For one, you’ll know for certain that the data erasure methods these companies use will actually work. 
• You won’t have to worry about your data being compromised. 
• Also, if you don’t choose to use the tech anymore, a good service will recycle or reuse your old tech once it’s wiped so you don’t have to worry about it filling up a landfill. 
• You can also rest knowing data is deleted using the proper NIST SP 800.88 or Department of Defense 5220.22-M standards . 

Some companies even go back to the tech once they’re removed the data to make sure they can’t recover it. This gives your company the peace of mind of knowing that private data and information is completely and totally gone.

Finding the Right Data Erasure Services

So you’re ready to find a certified data erasure service to safely and securely erase data from your tech. Keep a few considerations in mind as you shop around for the right service for you. Some services offer a post-deletion report that certifies your data has been effectively removed. This means that even with the most advanced software, your data was unable to be recovered once deleted.

Make sure you use a partner that removes data according to the NIST SP 800.88 standards and get your devices to the next user’s hands with a secure chain of custody.  Also, find out if your tech is recycled or reused according to environmental standards if it must be destroyed. Ensure a certified tech has completed your service. Lastly, discover whether you will be given an official certification of data erasure on a serialized basis. 

Contact PlanITROI today for more information on certified data erasure services.