Wiping a Hard Drive: When it Literally Pays to Wipe Your Data

Data destruction methods range from degaussing to physical disc shredding to wiping a hard drive using specially designed software. All three are effective at what they are designed to do, but only one method provides truly auditable proof of the data’s destruction – data wiping.

If your company stores very sensitive data for business purposes, then it needs to have a system of protecting that data. This becomes increasingly more important should the company be liquidating its older computers and recordable media. The data needs to be rendered irretrievable and not all data destruction methods can guarantee that level of security except wiping a hard drive.

When Should You Choose Hard Drive Wiping?

Wiping hard drives clean of data is also known as “disc sanitization.” This process features highly specialized software that wipes the data from the media, leaving the hard drives fully functional and safe for reuse. All of the previously recorded data is effectively destroyed using a seven-pass erasure process which makes the data incapable of being retrieved.

This type of data destruction is best suited for cases where very sensitive data needs to be destroyed on equipment that is going to be redeployed or liquidated and sold on the secondary market. Wiping hard drives can also be the first stage in a very strong data security process that also involves the physical destruction of the drives.

Liquid Technology’s Data Wiping in Action

Here is a recent example of how Liquid Technology’s DOD-certified data wiping services work:
Liquid Technology was approached by a top-rated financial company that was looking to recover a return on their investment by selling off an excess of high quality computer hardware. But, before the equipment could be sold on the secondary market, all of the recorded data had to be destroyed from the hard drives to ensure the privacy of the company and its customers. While the company preferred the hard drives to be shredded to ensure complete destruction of the data, they didn’t want to lose the resale value of the hard drives.

After reviewing the company’s inventory Liquid Technology recommended wiping the hard drives, which would enable the company to be confident about the sensitive data being thoroughly destroyed while retaining the value of the drives on the secondary market. By wiping the drives instead of shredding them Liquid Technology was able to offer an extra $24,000 for the equipment.

Liquid Technology proceeded in wiping the hard drives in accordance with current DOD guidelines using our proprietary hard drive wiping software, thus thoroughly destroying the recorded data while retaining the functionality and value of the drives. Upon completion of the project the company was provided an auditable digital data wiping certificate along with a check for far more than the company was expecting, proving that it can pay to wipe your data.

Wiping a Hard Drive Provides the Best Security – Call Liquid Technology Today

If your business wants to incorporate the highest level of data destruction possible as part of a strategic data security program, contact Liquid Technology today at 800-797-5478. Our data destruction services will help ensure your data, your company, and the privacy of your customers and clients are fully protected.