Large organisations often find themselves needing to replace old IT assets, such as laptops, servers and data storage devices. However, this constant turnover of new and old IT assets can present a serious problem to data security.
Data security is one of the key priorities for businesses in 2018, yet many companies neglect to implement a proper policy to ensure the effective destruction of their IT assets at the end of their life cycle, which creates a serious data security vulnerability.
Data Security Vulnerabilities
With the recent implementation of the GDPR, and the rush for compliance in the preceding months, the awareness of the importance of data security has never been higher. Indeed, according to Gartner, worldwide security spending is set to reach $96.3 billion in 2018, an increase of 8 percent from 2017. Despite this, there is a feeling that IT asset disposal is constantly in danger of being overlooked.
IT asset disposal is a crucial element of data security. As long as data is stored on a device, it can still be extracted, whether the device is in use or not. This means that any data bearing device that has not yet been securely disposed of is a potential security threat to your business. Indeed, if your IT assets are re-sold before being securely sanitised, or if they are mislaid in transit, your business is liable for a breach of the data security guidelines stipulated by the GDPR. This leaves you open to potentially crippling regulatory fines and reputational damage.
ITAD and the Chain of Custody
The key to effective IT asset disposal is in identifying and employing a reliable ITAD company. There are many electronic recycling companies who will gladly dispose of your assets, but what do you do if an asset goes missing and later results in a data breach?
Under the GDPR, the data controller, as well as the processor, is responsible in the event of a data breach. Because of this, it is vital to ensure that your company is protected when a third party collects and disposes of data on your behalf.
This is why the chain of custody is so important in ITAD, and why it’s equally important to ensure you engage a reliable ITAD vendor who is able to provide to provide you with a fully auditable data trail.
Recent research found that four out of five corporate IT asset disposal projects had at least one missing asset, and that 15% of these assets were devices containing data bearing devices such as laptops, computers, and servers.
In such a situation, it is crucial to have a clearly defined chain of custody, for the purposes of indemnification, and to determine liability. In short, a chain of custody, supplied by a fully accredited ITAD vendor, will enable you to be able to track where all of your disposed assets are at all times, and to determine responsibility in the eventuality that an asset is mislaid.
With over 25 years industry experience, tier1 are proud to be the UK’s most accredited ITAD supplier. We possess the skills, accreditations and experience to handle our clients’ data with the care they deserve, and to dispose of it responsibility and legally.
Contact us today on 0161 777 1000 or visit https://www.tier1.com to find out how we can help you dispose of your data safely and reliably.