Security
Failure to dispose of this data securely risks this data being stolen or exposed. Te consequences of a data leak can be severe. Businesses can be fined for failing to meet the standards of regulations such as GDPR, customers can lose trust and change supplier, and there can even be security implications if employee records or other sensitive information is lost. So destroying devices, and putting any data beyond recovery,
makes sense for devices that are no longer useful. However, our research has found that 43% of mobile devices, 35% of laptops and desktop PCs, and 44% of data centre assets are still functional when they are destroyed. Tis is extraordinary in the context of rising hardware prices and
stretched IT budgets, but makes more sense when we also consider that one in eight organisations say that they have suffered a data leak due to redeployed devices or drives. When it comes to data leaks, enterprises are suffering from
security anxiety. Te risk of exposing data and all the potential consequences has led businesses to destroy more devices than they need to. Faced with what appears to be a binary choice between destroying and replacing healthy devices, or losing sensitive data, businesses are choosing the more immediately expensive option to avoid what could be much worse – and have much higher, long- lasting costs. Tis is not a situation many enterprises can be happy with. Not
just because of the costs involved, but also because they want to be more sustainable and reuse devices where possible. More than three- quarters of enterprises would prefer that they reuse rather than destroy devices and drives where possible, and around a third say that sustainability is a key driver in their decision-making. Even worse, a massive 94% of organisations are confident that any
sensitive data on these devices is properly erased before disposal – despite the high number of data leaks and the apparent necessity of disposing of working devices. Something isn’t working as it should. Businesses want to redeploy
working devices. Tey think their processes for erasing and disposing of sensitive data is sound. Tey presumably want to stop spending an increasing amount of their IT budget on hardware. Yet many are taking the precautionary and expensive step of destroying working devices. Teir desires and actions do not match. Tis is an opportunity for their channel partners to step up and
solve two problems: easing security anxiety and unlocking real value from hardware that still has working life leſt in it. Tey can help fill this gap between intent and execution.
Channel partners can soothe security anxiety One issue is that data protection rules are complex, especially for businesses that operate across borders. More than half of businesses are increasing their investment in data privacy and protection compliance this year compared to last, and this has been consistent in previous years, showing year-on-year growth. Part of this is likely due to the number of regulatory frameworks that must be adhered to. In the US, the average is highest at 2.8, with the lowest in Australia at 1.3. Tere is no single ‘source of truth’ for businesses that want to stay compliant, but overlapping rules that range from national and supranational rules such as GDPR, local state-level laws, and industry-specific data protection acts such as HIPAA.
www.pcr-online.biz Understanding which rules are relevant and how they can be
met is far from straightforward. Channel partners can help provide businesses with the reassurance that the right rules are being followed and help deal with any conflicts or overlaps. Tere is also the process of data disposal. Tere are, again,
multiple standards to follow to ensure that sensitive data can no longer be accessed and the risk of a data leak is minimised. Tese include NSA/CSS Policy Manual 9-12, IEEE 2883-2022, and NIST SP 800-88 Guidelines for Media Sanitization – the last of which was updated and revised only last year. Meeting these standards is not straightforward and means making choices: whether to dispose of data and devices on-site or use a third party; how to protect the chain of custody for devices before data disposal; and how to create an audit trail so that meeting the requirements can be proved. Again, these are all elements where channel partners can offer guidance, expertise, and their services. Blancco’s research also found that many data disposal methods
in use today are not meeting these standards. Reformatting drives, which allows data to be overwritten but allows data to be recovered by forensic means, was in use by a third of organisations for laptops and desktop computers. Soſtware-based overwriting tools are a better option, but these need to provide certification to create a trusted audit trail. A fiſth of organisations were using tools without certification. Organisations will oſten use multiple methods across different
devices or scenarios to dispose of data, oſten reflecting differences in device type or the perceived sensitivity of data held. But this approach introduces inconsistency —making it more difficult to ensure that sensitive data is fully removed across the enterprise. Tis inconsistency contributes to security anxiety and fear of data leaks, and ultimately to the unnecessary destruction of working devices.
Selling confidence, not services Channel partners shouldn’t be looking to just sell data disposal services to their customers; they should be looking to sell confidence in data disposal. Having confidence in these systems will give enterprises the ability to happily redeploy devices wherever possible. Where this isn’t possible, they will be able to recycle more and increase their sustainability efforts and reduce e-waste. Instilling this confidence can mean more than offering
compliance and data destruction services. Almost all organisations report having data sanitisation policies in place, yet only two- thirds say those policies are implemented and communicated across the business. Some businesses are struggling to make policy consistent, possibly due to a DIY approach that isn’t working for everyone. Channel partners can be the trusted third party to solve this issue. With no immediate end to the memory crunch in sight – some
experts predict that it will last at least until 2030 – enterprises will want to ‘sweat their assets’ and increase the lifespan of all devices as far as possible. Tis positions data disposal services not just as a matter of compliance, but also a cost-cutting exercise too. With IT budgets stretched and investment in compliance increasing, the opportunity is to present these services as strategic investments rather than meeting compliance needs.
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