Mass Data Security Breach – Now is The Time to Destroy Your Hard Drives
Added: (Fri Feb 26 2021)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
In the past two years, there have been several high-profile security breaches that have affected thousands of people. You’ve probably heard about the Equifax breach that occurred in September 2017 and may even be aware of the Yahoo breaches that occurred in 2013 and 2014. In addition to these, there are others as well. It's a disaster. The credit reporting agency announced that it was hacked in July, and potentially 143 million people have had their personal information stolen. The hackers got their hands on names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses–the whole nine yards. And they're selling it!
A massive data security breach has resulted in the personal information of over 145 million Americans being compromised. If you're a small business owner, this news could feel like a personal attack on your company. With global data security breaches becoming more common, there's no doubt that even small businesses need to be on high alert.
Online data security is an area that is always in flux. New hacks are announced every day, and hundreds of websites get hacked every year. We are living in a period of unprecedented data security breaches, and the risks are only expanding. So what can you do to protect your business? In this article, we offer 5 hard drive destruction methods that will help you stay ahead of hackers.
1. Degaussing
If you no longer use your hard drives, you'll be able to modify them. This involves using a strong device referred to as a degausser. The device uses a powerful magnetic attraction to scramble the hard drive platter. This way, it can not be used or scanned by anyone. Since data is stored using magnetic principles, demagnetisation simply alters the magnetic direction of the drive.
2. Shredding
Hard drive shredding is one of the most functional ways to destroy a hard drive. It involves running the drive through a machine known as a shredder, which cuts it into small bits. Since hard drives store data on a platter, cutting it into tiny pieces renders the drive and any data on ithat useless. Some shredders additionally compress the shredded material into compact forms for disposal.
3. Melting
Melting hard drives involves dipping them in acid to demolish their platters and housing. Though this is one of the foremost effective hard drive destruction techniques, it is also one of the most dangerous ways. This is because the procedure involves using hydrochloric and nitric acids. Both acids are murderous to the environment. This involves human skin, so you must be careful with the appropriate protective gear. Generally, this process is not acceptable.
4. Disintegration
Organizations wanting to destroy highly classified data, sometimes select disintegration as one of their preferred hard drive destruction techniques. The method is carried out using a disintegrator– a machine with a carrier system and knife that slices hard drives into smaller particles. Malicious actors won’t be able to access the drives or data on them as a result of the disintegrated things can’t be reassembled.
5. Drilling
Putting holes in a hard drive destroys its platter and makes sure that no-one can use the data on it. It is also one of the better ways to go about the hard drive demolition process because you don’t need to use any complicated machines.
Things to Keep in Mind When Demolishing Hard Drives
Selecting a way of data destruction isn't a choice that ought to be taken gently. Depending on the business, bound ways that of destroying data could also be preferable due to effectiveness, cost, and different factors.