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As workplaces have become more sophisticated, businesses are faced with an ongoing dilemma. How do they dispose of electronic equipment safely and responsibly? Each computer and server has a hard drive inside and those drives contain a variety of sensitive information. For that reason, Boston businesses often seek professional hard drive disposal services before getting rid of old equipment.
In addition to meeting a business s data security needs, National Computer Warehouse Services (NCWS) also works hard to ensure responsible disposal of old equipment. Our goal is to help with solutions that encourage sustainability while also quickly taking care of computers and servers that are consuming office space. We work directly with each Boston-area business to craft a personalized solution.
Understanding the Dangers
When a hard drive is lost or stolen, it s impossible for a business to know everything that might be retrieved from that drive. On a daily basis, activities leave traces of information on a drive, even if all files are located on a networked server that a criminal couldn t access. A fraudster could find traces of old emails, attachments that have been downloaded, and even contact information in databases saved to the drive itself. That doesn t even include the many instances of employees who save important documents to the hard drive despite being urged to store everything on the network.
If even one piece of sensitive customer information is compromised, a business has an obligation to notify all parties who might have been affected. In many cases, businesses can t know for sure what data might have fallen into the wrong hands, forcing them to notify all customers that identity theft may occur as a result. This notification process can be costly for businesses, making the small cost of hard drive destruction well worth it.
Businesses and Compliance
Many Boston businesses deal with compliance issues when considering recycling old equipment. Failure to meet those regulations can result in hefty fines and penalties in addition to the cost of notifying customers. Some businesses find that they can meet those guidelines by either erasing the drive to adequate standards or using specialized equipment to shred hard drives. Each process on its own can be risky, however, since no erasure method is completely guaranteed and criminals may eventually find a way to reconstruct shredded drives.
NCWS uses a two-step process that first degausses the drive, erasing the information on the drive as thoroughly as possible using modern technology. Once the degaussing process is complete, we use specialized equipment to shred all drives, ensuring that even if someone could piece the drive together, all traces of data on it would be completely gone.
Recycling Options
Businesses have a variety of options when they dispose of old equipment. NCWS can create a specialized solution to match each of the following preferences, as well as any other unique situations a business has.
- Destroying equipment responsibly using recycling centers of our choice
- Destroying equipment responsibly using recycling centers of your choice
- Donating to a charitable organization
- Redistributing to a separate division within the same company
- Redistributing to another business
The choice of disposal methods determines whether or not the hard drive can be completely destroyed or not. A business that wants to keep a computer or server within its own organization, for instance, likely won t want to order hard drive destruction on the drive itself. If the hard drive needs to be accessible, a business likely won t want the drive to be shredded. Some drives can continue to remain operable after degaussing, but some may simply need to be erased with specialized software. NCWS can set up a customized solution that meets a Boston-area business s needs.
Hard Drive Disposal Certification
Many businesses find that they need documentation for their computer disposal processes, since they may be audited by regulators or board members. This means they need to have thorough documentation of their processes to be able to answer any questions that arise. NCWS provides certification when we shred hard drives, issuing a separate document for each drive that describes the process used to destroy it.
In some cases, businesses have needs specific to general regulatory standards. NCWS is aware of these requirements and can tailor our paperwork to match. We provide certification to satisfy Department of Defense, NIST, and CESG standards, among others. If your business has specific regulatory requirements, mention them when completing the Hard Drive Destruction/Mobile Hard Drive Shredding questionnaire and we ll create a personalized solution to match.
Convenience
NCWS offers mobile hard drive destruction to businesses throughout the Boston area. We bring our equipment to your location and shred hard drives on site, letting you monitor the process from start to finish. This also gives you the convenience of not having to transport hard drives to a separate location, which also frees up the time you d spend traveling across town. Our process also gives you the peace of mind of seeing hard drive destruction personally, rather than trusting a business s word that the shredding took place.
When you choose NCWS s mobile option to shred hard drives at your location, you also have the opportunity to keep the shredded particles yourself. We can dispose of them responsibly if you prefer, but you can also take care of getting rid of them in your own preferred way. We ll arrange this at the time you decide to use our services. We regularly work with healthcare organizations and government agencies to ensure our hard drive shredding meets all regulatory requirements, which gives you the confidence of knowing that when you choose NCWS, you re choosing a business that will keep your data safe during the entire equipment disposal process.
Whether you need to dispose of equipment or move it to another source, NCWS s hard drive destruction services can help. We offer free quotes for services, based solely on a questionnaire your business can fill out in a matter of minutes. Based on your questionnaire, we can craft a solution that works within your budget and meets all regulatory requirements for your type of business, keeping your customers safe while also freeing up space within your offices and server rooms.
