What is the Purpose of Data Shredding?

Uber revolutionized the taxicab industry in 2009, but it wasn’t until late 2016 that it succumbed to one of the largest data breaches in the world. Unfortunately for Uber, its biggest problem wasn’t the scope of the breach or the amount of data stolen, but it was the way in which the company handled the aftermath of the information theft disaster. The breach involved the theft of the names, cell phone numbers, and email addresses of 57 million registered Uber users, as well as the driver’s license details of approximately 600,000 drivers. After the breach was discovered, it was also revealed that Uber paid $100,000 to the hackers in exchange for a promise to destroy the stolen data, despite the fact that they had no way of verifying if the data had actually been destroyed. The company went on to fire its CSO and suffered a valuation drop of approximately $20 billion as a result. Today we’re asking the question, what is the purpose of data shredding? Indeed, one of the primary purposes is to avoid embarrassing and costly data breaches like those that happen to Uber and countless other companies and organizations of all sizes.

Data destruction is absolutely necessary for a business looking to recycle or discard old hard drives. Discarding or recycling an old hard drive without destroying all the data left on the device is dangerous. If someone ends up with a hard drive, they could potentially access all data left on the hard drive. This includes confidential information about a business and confidential information about clients. Discarding hard drives without secure data destruction is a poor business practice and could potentially be against the law – opening the business up to legal and ethical problems.

Fortunately, utilizing a professional service can help a business destroy data left on a hard drive. It’s important to note that simply deleting data from a hard drive is not sufficient enough because that data could potentially be recovered. When someone obtains a disposed-of hard drive with malicious intent, you can be sure that they will know how to recover data. This is why businesses should understand what is the purpose of data shredding.

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What Is Data Destruction? What Is the Purpose of Data Shredding?

Data destruction is the process of destroying data left on electronic media, such as hard drives. When this is done properly, it will make the hard drive completely unreadable and inaccessible, so nobody unauthorized would be able to access the drive. Proper data destruction will render a hard drive useless. All businesses concerned with protecting both themselves and their clients will understand what is the purpose of data shredding.

Why Is Data Destruction So Important?

Proper data destruction is so important because it essentially protects a business. Businesses who discard hard drives without destroying the data put both themselves and their clients at risk. If the wrong person gets their hands on a hard drive, they will be able to access everything that was on the hard drive, even if it was deleted. Because – as we now know all too well – data deletion or hard drive formatting do not actually remove all traces of data. Instead, these processes simply remove the references to the data in the hard drive storage system.

Utilizing a professional data destruction service is the best way a business can protect their own information, along with sensitive data stored on behalf of their clients and customers. Professional data destruction professionals know what is the purpose of data shredding, and they can protect your business.

How Do You Destroy A Hard Drive Image - Agr

How Do You Destroy A Hard Drive?

There are a few different methods to destroy a hard drive, but the most efficient methods are degaussing and hard drive shredding. Ideally, both of these methods should be used. Of course, there are always those who will attempt to use DIY methods, such as the use of software or even brute force, but this isn’t the safest way to destroy a hard drive. A professional service can both degauss and shred your old hard drives and ensure that nobody will be able to access them.

Degaussing is the process of complete hard drive erasure using a strong magnetic field. A degaussing machine will use a magnetic force stronger than the hard drive’s magnetic force, which will permanently delete all data and render the hard drive useless. This should be the first step of data destruction.

Once degaussing has been completed, the next step a business should take is shredding the hard drive. Some people will attempt to physically destroy their old hard drives on their own, but this isn’t always effective, and it could be dangerous – especially since hard drives and other electronic equipment contain traces of dangerous and even toxic particles.

Instead, a reputable business should opt for professional hard drive shredding. Hard drive shredding involves the use of an industrial-level shredder to completely destroy the hard drive, making it impossible for anyone to recreate the hard drive or access the data that was once contained within. When this is combined with degaussing, businesses can be sure that none of their important information will be accessible. Keeping this in mind, understanding the purpose of data shredding will protect a business itself and its reputation.

If you don’t want what happened to Uber to happen to your business, contact us at All Green Recycling today.

References

The 17 biggest data breaches of the 21st century

How to recycle your electronics and gadgets

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