The role of data destruction play in cyber security.
When organization leaders think about cybersecurity, the focus goes mostly towards tools and practices to be implemented to improve the protection of the current cyber structure.
Everyone defends themselves against break-ins and data theft by using various robust firewalls, anti-virus, cloud storage solutions, network and endpoint security, awareness training for employees, up to the most recent AI and machine learning technologies. What is usually not considered, or underestimated, is what to do when media carriers and endpoints need to be taken away or disposed. CX Consulting has partnered with ProDevice to provide a solution for your data destruction requirements
Why must data destruction take place?
For an organization’s security posture, it is fundamental to protect the data during the whole lifetime, which includes what to do with data when it is no longer necessary. Millions of obsolete, unused, broken, or faulty smartphones, disks and various electronic carriers is tossed away daily in the trash, after a simple formatting, or fried in microwave ovens, or smashed with a hammer in the belief that this is enough.This data can still be successfully recovered and used. And this is exactly what leads to mass data leaks, POPIA violations, theft, blackmail, sales of confidential data, PR disasters, scandals.
Therefore, organizations must implement an additional step to ensure the data can no longer be read or reachable by anybody before the disposal.
The first step to consider is a new approach to the data retention policy, creating audits and internal processes to determine the types of hardware that are being used to store data and when a specific data carrier should be destroyed. All of this new approach shall be introduced taking into consideration the time, by ensuring that these new processes won’t impact the current personnel and the ongoing operations. To perform this professionally, by the highest standards of security, companies have a few main solutions when deciding how to destroy data. These solutions can be summed up in the 2 most common professional ways to dispose of digital information:
- Degaussing
- Physical destruction
Degaussing is a physic process, based on the physic law for which if a magnetic field which is twice as much as the coercivity of the magnetic data carrier, is passed over the storage device, all the present information will be scrambled, rendering it completely unreadable. For the convenience and safety of the process, it is worth choosing a device generating a report, supported by a mobile application. Internationally speaking, degaussing is the most common way to destroy data from magnetic data carriers, recommended by several cybersecurity and data protection associations, as the most secure, easy-to-use, time saving and effective technology.
Alternatively, or in combination with the degaussing, it is possible to physically destroy the different carriers, by punching with professional and certified manual destroyers or shredding with automatic media shredders. The destruction of the carriers, as well as the security standard, is regulated and categorized by the international standard DIN66399, which divides the process into 7 different security levels, 3 protection categories and 6 material classifications.
The usage of these professional technologies and its implementation within the organization’s cybersecurity policy, will benefit the enterprise in many levels.
First of all the accountability, since clients, partners and employees will have the assurance that confidential information won’t fall into unauthorized or criminal hands after the disposal of the carriers.
ProDevice Degausers
ProDevice degaussers are high-quality devices for the safe and irreversible data removal from functional or damaged magnetic media. Created on the basis of many years of experience, they are based on the best components as well as patented and innovative technologies. Work on the continuous products development in our R&D center, makes the devices unrivaled in the market of degaussers for removing information from storage media.
ASM120 degausser
It irreversibly and safely removes data from magnetic media thanks to a strong magnetic field (up to 11 000 Gauss, 1.1 T).
ASM120 is the world’s first degausser that allows connection with a device from any location via an Ethernet connector.
Thanks to the unique PPMS (Pre-Paid Management System) technology – ProDevice ASM120 is the only degausser on the market that enables programming a specific number of data erasing cycles, beyond which the device is automatically blocked.
Media Destroyer
ProDevice MMD360+ manual media destroyer
ProDevice MMD360+ destroyer is a handheld model that punches holes in the data carrier in several places. Due to its compact size and modern design, the device can be used even in small offices.
It physically destroys 2.5″ and 3.5″ hard drives, SSDs, magnetic tapes, pen drives, tablets and mobile phones.
Two modules with interchangeable steel pins for destroying media are standard: with a single one
for punching hard drives, with 23 pins for flash media
perforation.
The unique technology used in the defense industry guarantees long-term durability of the device’s coating.
ProDevice – A Development center of modern technologies.
When working on the development of ProDevice products, we focus on knowledge and experience. In our R&D center, we have been concentrating on research and scientific projects for many years and we are implementing a cooperative program with renowned academic centers. Thanks to this, we create reliable devices for effective, safe and irreversible data deletion and media destruction.
Why customers choose ProDevice.
- Reliable, highest quality products for data removal and media destruction.
- The world’s most modern R&D center, working on data deletion technologies.
- Compliance with international mandates, regulations and security guidelines.
Contact us today for more information!