Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to Our FAQ Section!
Navigating the world of on-site data erasure and hard drive shredding can be complex, but we’re here to simplify it for you. We understand the importance of securing your data and ensuring its complete and responsible disposal. Our FAQ section addresses the most common questions and concerns you might have about our services. Whether you’re new to data security or just curious about our specific procedures, we’ve got the answers. Dive in to get a clearer picture of how we prioritize your data’s safety and our commitment to transparency.
On-site hard drive erasure is a service we offer to securely wipe data from hard drives and other electronic storage devices directly at your location, ensuring the data is rendered inaccessible without physically destroying the device. Here’s how our on-site erasure process works:
Our Mobile Erasure Units: We come equipped with advanced erasure tools and software, brought directly to your premises. This allows us to handle the data wiping process on-site, under your supervision.
Thorough Data Wiping: Using certified software, we overwrite the data on the hard drives multiple times. This ensures that the original data is completely obscured and cannot be retrieved using conventional recovery methods.
Preservation of Hardware: Unlike physical destruction methods like shredding, on-site erasure leaves the hard drive intact and reusable. This can be particularly beneficial if you plan to repurpose, donate, or sell the hardware.
Immediate Assurance: Conducting the erasure on-site allows you to witness the entire process, offering you immediate peace of mind and assurance that your sensitive data is securely wiped.
Compliance and Verification: After the erasure process, we provide you with a certificate of erasure, verifying that the drives have been securely wiped. This certification helps you stay compliant with various data protection regulations and standards.
Eco-friendly Approach: Since the hardware remains functional post-erasure, it encourages reuse and reduces electronic waste. This approach aligns with eco-friendly and sustainable practices.
Versatility in Service: In addition to hard drives, we can also securely erase data from other storage media, such as SSDs, thumb drives, and mobile devices.
In summary, our on-site hard drive erasure service offers a secure solution for data removal while preserving the integrity of the hardware, making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking a balance between security and sustainability.
While data erasure involves securely wiping the data from a device, hard drive shredding is a physical destruction process. We use specialized equipment to shred the hard drive into tiny pieces, making data recovery impossible.
The NIST 800-88 standard, officially titled “NIST Special Publication 800-88: Guidelines for Media Sanitization,” is a publication provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It offers guidance on the sanitization of electronic media to ensure that previously stored information cannot be retrieved or reconstructed.
The standard categorizes sanitization into three main types:
Clear: This is a basic level of sanitization, typically achieved through software or hardware-based methods, to protect the confidentiality of information against a basic level of threat.
Purge: This involves a more advanced level of sanitization, often employing physical or logical techniques, that safeguards data confidentiality from more sophisticated threats, including advanced forensic tools.
Destroy: This is the most secure level of sanitization. It ensures that the media is completely unreadable and cannot be used for its intended purpose or functionality. Methods might include shredding, melting, incinerating, or disintegrating the media.
Organizations use the NIST 800-88 standard as a guideline to develop procedures and policies for data sanitization, ensuring that their practices are in line with recognized best practices and that they comply with regulatory requirements related to data protection and privacy.
On-site services ensure that your sensitive data never leaves your premises, providing an extra layer of security. This is especially important for businesses with strict data protection and compliance requirements.
Yes, after the completion of the service, we provide a certificate of destruction or erasure as proof that the process was done securely and in compliance with industry standards.
In the rare event that a device can’t be erased due to hardware issues, we can proceed with physical destruction or shredding to ensure the data is not recoverable.
Yes, our data erasure methods are software-based and have no environmental impact. For hard drive shredding, we ensure that all shredded materials are recycled responsibly.
We are equipped to handle bulk requests. If you have a large number of devices, please inform us in advance so we can make the necessary arrangements.
We cater to both small and large projects. Whether you have hundreds or thousands of drives, we’re here to assist. For very large projects, we recommend scheduling a consultation in advance.
Our services are customizable. You can choose either data erasure, hard drive shredding, or both, based on your needs.
We proudly offer our on-site services on a national scale, covering all regions of the United States. Whether you’re located in the bustling cities, quiet suburbs, or rural areas, our dedicated team is equipped and ready to serve your data erasure and shredding needs anywhere across the country.
Our data erasure methods are comprehensive and designed to erase all types of data. If there are specific concerns, our technicians can address them during the visit.
We cater to businesses of all sizes and locations. Whether you have one site or multiple locations across the country, we can coordinate simultaneous or phased on-site services to meet your needs.
On-site hard drive shredding is a service we provide where we physically destroy hard drives and other electronic storage devices right at your location, ensuring that your data is permanently and irretrievably eliminated. Here’s a closer look at how we handle the process:
Our Mobile Shredding Units: We operate specially equipped vehicles with industrial-strength shredding machines. When you request our service, we dispatch these vehicles to your location, ready to perform the shredding on-site.
Guaranteed Physical Destruction: Once we’re on your premises, we feed the hard drives into our shredding machine, tearing them into tiny fragments. This ensures the drives are entirely unusable, and the data they contained is gone forever.
Immediate Assurance: By shredding on-site, we allow you to witness the destruction process firsthand. This ensures you have complete peace of mind, knowing that sensitive data hasn’t left your premises intact.
Compliance and Proof: After the shredding is complete, we provide you with a certificate of destruction. This certificate verifies the secure destruction of your drives and can be crucial for adhering to various data protection regulations.
Environmentally Conscious Disposal: We don’t just stop at shredding. We ensure that the shredded material is sent to recycling facilities, promoting environmentally responsible disposal and ensuring we don’t add to electronic waste.
Versatility in Service: While we often refer to it as “hard drive” shredding, we also extend our destruction services to other electronic media, such as CDs, DVDs, SSDs, and thumb drives.
In essence, our on-site hard drive shredding offers a secure and efficient way for businesses and individuals to achieve total data destruction, giving you both peace of mind and compliance with regulatory standards.
The time required varies based on the number and size of the devices. The process can vary anywhere from few hours to few days depending on the scope of the project. However, we use efficient methods and equipment to ensure the process is as swift as possible.
NAID AAA is a certification program offered by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). It stands for NAID’s “Triple-A Certification.” The program establishes standards for a secure destruction process, including operational security, employee hiring and screening, the destruction process itself, and responsible disposal. Companies that achieve NAID AAA Certification are recognized as adhering to stringent security specifications, ensuring that their services meet established industry best practices. The certification is often sought by data destruction providers to demonstrate their commitment to privacy and compliance with data protection regulations.
We offer a variety of on-site data destruction service levels to cater to the unique needs and preferences of our clients. Here’s a breakdown of the available options:
On-site NIST 800-88 (PURGE) 2014: This is our standard secure erasure for media conducted directly at the customer’s location. It adheres to the guidelines set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for securely erasing electronic media.
Custom Secure Erasure: For those who require a more stringent data wiping process, we offer a custom erasure service. Here, we can perform more than three pass secure erasures based on your specific requirements. Please note that this is a premium service and comes with additional costs.
On-site Hard Drive Shredding: If you’re looking for physical destruction of your drives, our on-site hard drive shredding is the ideal choice. We bring our specialized equipment to your location and shred the drives right in front of you, ensuring complete data destruction.
On-Site Degausser: This method involves the use of powerful magnets to scramble the data on the drives, rendering them unreadable. It’s an effective solution for magnetic destruction of drives directly at your premises.
On-Site Drive Punching: In situations where drive shredding may not be an option or preference, we offer on-site drive punching. This involves physically compressing and puncturing the drives, ensuring they are unusable and the data cannot be retrieved.
With these diverse service level options, we aim to provide a comprehensive suite of on-site data destruction services that align with your data security needs and compliance requirements. Whether you’re leaning towards secure software-based erasure or prefer physical destruction methods, we have a solution tailored for you.
To obtain an accurate hard drive shredding quote from us, there are several key details we require:
Type of Hard Drives: Please specify the make and model or any other technical specifications of the hard drives you wish to have destroyed.
Quantity: The number of hard drives you need to be shredded will directly impact the quote.
Location: Let us know where the hard drives are located, as this will factor into logistics and potential transportation costs.
Preparation Status: Inform us if the drives will need to be extracted from systems or if they are already detached and prepared for service.
Quotes for hard drive destruction are primarily based on volume. If you have historical data or details about the current project size, it will be instrumental in securing the most economical rates. Consolidating a significant amount of media for one-time purging could be more cost-efficient compared to multiple smaller shredding projects. However, it’s essential to weigh this against the potential security risks of storing electronic media with sensitive information for extended periods.
All our hard drive destruction quotes include serialized reporting and certificates of destruction. Please note that the quote will not cover special site restrictions or specific on-site service levels, like removing drives from machines, unless informed beforehand. Always ensure that all pertinent details are provided to guarantee a comprehensive and accurate quote.
Yes, our on-site services allow you to witness the entire process, ensuring transparency and peace of mind.
Here’s a comprehensive list of media that can be shredded:
- Hard Disk Drives (HDDs): Common storage in computers and servers.
- Solid State Drives (SSDs): Found in modern computers, tablets, and smartphones.
- Optical Media:
- CDs (Compact Discs)
- DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs)
- Blu-ray Discs
- Floppy Disks: Older storage format.
- Magnetic Tapes:
- DAT (Digital Audio Tape)
- DLT (Digital Linear Tape)
- LTO (Linear Tape-Open)
- USB Drives: Portable storage devices.
- Memory Cards:
- SD and MicroSD Cards
- CF Cards (CompactFlash)
- MMC (MultiMediaCard)
- Memory Sticks
- Zip and Jaz Drives and Disks: Older storage solutions.
- Backup Tapes: Used for data backup.
- RAID Arrays: Multiple disks combined.
- PCMCIA Cards: Used in older laptops.
- Biometric Scanners and ID Cards: Contain identification data.
- Smart and SIM Cards: Used in phones and secure applications.
- Portable External Hard Drives: For data backup/transfer.
- Digital Cameras and Camcorders: Store photos/videos.
- Game Consoles: Have internal storage.
- Hybrid Drives: Mix of SSDs and HDDs.
It’s essential to understand the specific shredding requirements for each medium to ensure complete data destruction.
Yes, apart from our core services of on-site data erasure and hard drive shredding, we provide a comprehensive range of IT solutions. These include IT disposal for outdated or redundant equipment, IT value recovery to help businesses recoup value from their existing assets, e-waste recycling to ensure responsible and environmentally-friendly disposal, and data center take down and relocation services for businesses undergoing transitions or upgrades. If you have any specific needs or questions about our diverse offerings, we’re here to assist.
Our data erasure methods adhere to global standards, including the NIST 800-88 standard, which is a recognized guideline for media sanitization. Designed to make data recovery impossible, we use certified software that overwrites your data multiple times, ensuring complete security and compliance with industry best practices.
We handle a wide range of storage devices, including hard drives (HDDs and SSDs), thumb drives, mobile devices, and more.
Absolutely. Our technicians are highly trained and certified in handling data erasure and hard drive shredding tasks, ensuring professionalism and security throughout the process.
The cost varies based on the number of devices and the specific service chosen. Please contact us for a detailed quote.
Absolutely. Our team is equipped and trained to handle complex storage solutions, including RAID arrays and servers.
We use state-of-the-art encryption and security measures during the erasure process. Our team adheres to strict confidentiality agreements, ensuring your data’s privacy at all times.
All shredded material is responsibly recycled, ensuring minimal environmental impact.