Hard Drive Destruction: How It Works
Companies looking for buyers of used computer equipment and other IT assets need to consider who will be responsible for erasing or destroying hard drive data to ensure that hard drive data is not still present, potentially exposing your organization to significant fines or claims. Our company can work with your organization to ensure that all information is removed from any electronic media prior to resale.
We can permanently remove data from hard drives by offering the following services:
- Erase your hard drive: We utilize department of defense standard software to completely erase all information. This process performs multiple overwrites of data, ensuring that there is nothing left from your organization.
- Destroy your hard drive: Our company has custom manufactured a device which allows us to penetrate your hard drive with approximately 6,000 pounds of force. This “press” machine goes right through the platter of your drive, twists and oftentimes cracks the casing itself. Your hard drive will literally be turned into pieces.
A growing number of companies wish to remain “anonymous” when their surplus assets are sold, having their products debranded so that the end buyer of their assets does not know who the original owner was. If you were to purchase a used car from a dealership, the dealer generally will reset navigation history and remove any personally identifiable information of who the previous owner was, essentially protecting the seller’s identity. Why is this important? Say that you purchased a used vehicle – and later discovered that the premium factory sound system was torn out and replaced with a cheap aftermarket sound system by the original seller – you then wouldn’t know who had owned the vehicle previously and be able to “bother” them about why they would do such a thing.
The same principle applies with identity removal from your surplus corporate assets. RepowerIT, if included in our contract with you, can help reduce the likelihood that any buyer of your assets would be able to pursue your organization in the event of a warranty, or other claim, by removing personally identifiable information about your company from your assets.
Asset Tag Removal & Reporting
Many organizations employ a variety of techniques to safeguard their tangible property – such as LoJack, or company-branded asset tags. These asset tags are oftentimes used internally to help track the book value of a specific company asset, so many companies, when selling their assets, need to know the asset IDs of each item they have sold to remove them from their books. We can record the asset tags of any surplus item from your organization, and provide a full report of these to you so that they can be removed from your company’s books. Additionally, we can remove and/or destroy the asset tags themselves so that the items your company is getting rid of are not so easy to recognize in the used marketplace, or by the end buyer, as having originated from your company’s ownership.
If your company is interested in learning more about this process, contact us for a custom quote.