Public cloud services remain popular among many businesses. However, companies with large processing needs require to bring their cloud computing capabilities in-house. Private clouds can solve some of the expense problems caused by subscribing to public cloud services; however, they also come with problems of their own. One of these is security and regulatory compliance. Implementing your cloud applications on a private cloud means that you’ll be handling sensitive or regulated information on in-house infrastructure. So, your private cloud implementation needs planning with security in mind from start to finish.
The reality of working with anything that relies on mechanical equipment is that eventually, mechanical equipment wears out. So you must replace it. This is true of the servers that run your private cloud, as it is of a car or a refrigerator. However, your private cloud is unique. Once you use it to store confidential information, it is generally subject to security and privacy relationships until you thoroughly destroy it.
There are tools on the market today, such as hard drive degaussers, that use electromagnetic waves to disrupt the way of recording data on hardware. However, this method is not absolutely foolproof. Many government agencies do not consider data to be destroyed if the storage hardware is merely scrambled magnetically. After using a magnetic hard drive eraser on the hardware that once held sensitive data, you must generally use a physical destruction method in order to be compliant with modern security regulations.
Hard drive crushers
Hard drive crushers work by physically damaging computer hardware until there is no chance whatsoever of recovering any data left over from electromagnetic erasure. Through a combination of crushing and cutting action, hard drive crushers can destroy hardware ranging from blu-ray disks and CDs to entire hard drives or servers. A combination of this method with degaussing or other means of electromagnetic erasure is generally sufficient to satisfy privacy regulations.
Using a private cloud to handle your company’s computing tasks can be a great way to more efficiently handle your data while avoiding the expenses involved with a public cloud. However, there are a number of responsibilities that you must handle yourself if you opt for a private cloud solution. These responsibilities include the complete destruction of any hardware which you want to dispose of after handling sensitive data. In order to satisfy modern security requirements, electromagnetic erasure is not enough. You must also use a mechanical hard drive crusher to make sure that your sensitive information is gone for good.
Phiston Technologies is proud to provide a number of quality data destruction solutions; feel free to contact us for more information about them.
