Data breaches, like the recent Equifax breach, are becoming more common and scary for companies. Particularly because a recent federal court case held that consumers may directly sue companies that fail to safeguard their personal data just because the consumers are now at a heightened risk for identity theft. No actual identity theft needs to occur.
A recent article from CIODive quotes a technology CEO, noting that IT executives tend to prioritize the “scarier data security threats like backdoor attacks, extortion, and malware. In doing so, they ignore the more obvious, and potentially more easily controlled, the threat of data stored on ole hardware.
Failure to erase stored data from IT assets, like hard drives, thumb or USB drives, CDs, or other media, leaves sensitive data unprotected. In fact, a recent study of 200 used hard disk drives and solid-state drives found that corporate data, including company emails, spreadsheets, customer data, and CRM records, all of which could be used against a company, was found on 11% of the drives.
Another industry expert states to Huffington Post, “No matter who you are or how much you spend on cyber-security services and software if you don’t responsibly destroy or recycle your hardware and the information it contains, you are leaving the back door wide open to hackers. The final step in the life of an electronic device is now more important than ever.
To get more information on how to properly remove data from you company’s media and how to properly dispose of hard drives, contact us!
