It’s easy enough that puppies and babies do it for fun – shredding paper is quite literally child’s play. (Not that an energetic toddler is any substitute for a professional shredding service!) Cardboard’s thicker, but with the use of a strong shredder, it too can be torn into tiny bits. Even plastic can be destroyed by a shredder.
But when it comes to hard drives, we know that some people are skeptical about this disposal method. It’s a question we hear from clients on occasion: can Northeast Data Destruction really shred hard drives, the way we shred paper? And isn’t this an unnecessary step, when you could just as easily destroy the hard drive’s data in some way that doesn’t require the use of heavy machinery?
Until It’s Destroyed, Your Data is At Risk
First, we think it’s important that our customers understand why most hard drive destruction methods are insufficient. Someone who has a moderate level of computer savvy, or who has access to simple tools, could do a pretty good job of masking the data on a hard drive. Some people drill holes through their hard drives, or use programs to write over all the stored data. They then trash or recycle the drives.
What we think those people don’t realize is that data is not truly destroyed when a hard drive is wiped or drilled. Data that has been written over is still stored on the drive. A drill may not completely destroy everything because drives store data on spinning platters, and the areas that aren’t drilled will still hold that data. If an amateur data thief gets his hands on those drives, he might not be able to recover anything. Experienced data thieves won’t be so easily deterred. And because they only make money if they can recover data, they’re really good at recovering data.
So if you’re getting rid of a hard drive that contains nothing but vacation photos and old school assignments, you can probably take your chances and opt for a less-than-final means of destruction. But if your hard drive contains any information that’s financial, legal, proprietary or otherwise sensitive in nature, a more permanent method is the only responsible choice.
Yes, We Really Do Shred Hard Drives
Shredding a drive is one of the only ways to effectively destroy it. This process rips the drive into tiny pieces, which can’t be reassembled. At Northeast Data Destruction, our high-capacity shredder can destroy more than 1,000 hard drives per hour.
When customers hire us to shred electronics that contain hard drives, we start by dismantling the pieces to isolate the drives themselves. We recycle any electronics components that we can. Next, a technician feeds each drive into the shredder. It’s capable of tearing a hard drive into pieces that are no larger than 3/4 of an inch in size or smaller. The shredded pieces from hundreds of drives get mixed together and recycled.
Some companies might hesitate to shred hard drives because it takes too much effort to get their tiny drives to a shredding facility. Northeast Data Destruction offers pickup services, allowing you to maintain a secure chain of custody without having to make a trip to our facility. We can also provide a certificate of destruction and log with the serial numbers of all destroyed drives.
At Northeast Data Destruction, it’s our job to make your job easier. We are deeply committed to our client’s security, and have maintained a NAID AAA certification for eleven years. Could you use our help to keep your sensitive data private? Contact us today.