How a Server Moving Company Can Help with Hard Drive Certification

by Stephanie Faris on Monday, December 22 6:00

Businesses today are faced with a wide variety of data security concerns. Regulations require that any business storing customer data must keep that information safe, putting the burden of meeting those requirements on professionals who are far from data security experts. While companies may entrust their server storage to third-party services or in-house IT departments, ultimately business owners are responsible for ensuring sensitive data doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

As strong as server-level security is, however, too often businesses put data at risk by their own behaviors. Data center movers often personally see some of the many mistakes businesses make in the course of daily work. These mistakes could be disastrous if they result in a data breach. Such a breach could lead to fines and lost customer confidence for a business.

Password Protection

One issue that remains prevalent in organizations is password irresponsibility. Often password restrictions aren't enforced, leaving employees to use simple, easy-to-guess passwords that they share with all of their personal and professional accounts. By setting restrictions at the server level that require all workers to use a minimum number of letters, numbers, and special characters, a business can better protect itself from a hacking attempt.

Computer movers also frequently find passwords posted in an area where they can easily become compromised. Employees still leave passwords on sticky notes, which they attach to their monitors, or under keyboards. Mobile employees will often keep their passwords in laptop bags and purses, putting business data at risk if the employee should lose that equipment while in transit.

Hard Drive Removal

When it's time to dispose of old computer equipment, businesses can easily get themselves into a data breach issue. A British study found that 48 percent of all used hard drives contain at least some residual data. For businesses, this data could be sensitive company information, customer social security cards and credit card numbers, client, contact information for employees and clients, and more.

Data center relocation specialists can handle all of a business's equipment recycling needs, including certified mobile hard drive erasure and shredding. By working with professional data center movers, a business has the peace of mind of knowing all data will be secure. Once the process is complete, IT movers can provide a report to demonstrate compliance with a business's specialized regulatory compliance requirements, including R2, NAID, ADISA, and e-Stewart audit standards.

When a business contacts a server moving company for help with equipment removal, the first step is to determine what regulatory compliance issues exist. If a business wants to reuse a hard drive, computer movers can responsibly erase the drive and certify compliance with applicable standards for a business's records. This process will protect a company in the event of an audit while also allowing it to repurpose its equipment for use by nonprofits or other local organizations without concern. Some businesses also choose to sell their used computers and having the hard drives intact makes equipment more valuable. By working with professional IT movers for computer removal, businesses will keep customer data safe.