Hard Drive Destruction Services

Not all sensitive data is kept on paper. In fact, more and more, Columbus businesses and homes store their sensitive data digitally on computers or other electronic media devices. Everything from banking information to even medical records is all kept on computers. But data is still recoverable from a hard drive, even if you think you’ve wiped it clean of your files!

The only way to ensure that your or your business’ data doesn’t end up in the wrong hands is to have your old hard drives completely and permanently destroyed. This process is required for compliance with Ohio privacy laws, including HIPAA. Businesses that have failed to destroy hard drives have ended up with serious violations and fines in the past. Data can easily be recovered with free software, so simply scrubbing the hard drive of your files is not enough to guarantee your protection.

It’s more than just the hard drive in your traditional desktop computer that is at risk. Hard drives are hidden everywhere in a home or office — each of them potentially having sensitive data stored in its memory. Commonly overlooked are scanners, fax machines, and printers, which can retain a copy of every digital file any of these devices have received or handled throughout their lifetime. Here’s a list of other electronic devices you might not have considered:

• Fax machines, scanners, copiers, and printers
• USB removable media such as pen drives, thumb drives, flash drives and sticks
• Memory cards, including SD, SDHC, MMC, compact flash, microdrive and memory sticks
• Legacy magnetic media like floppy drives, zip disks and magnetic tapes
• Mobile devices like cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets and laptops
• PC hard drives
• Optical media, including CDs and DVDs
• Embedded flash on boards and devices, including motherboards and peripheral cards such as network adapters or any other adapter containing non volatile flash memory
• RAM and ROM-based storage devices
• Biomedical devices such as physiologic monitors, infusion pumps, ventilators, MRI, CT, and diagnostic ultrasound and laboratory analyzers

There is no better way to protect yourself from a data breach than to physically destroy the hard drive. Our partners provide hard drive shredding on-site or at a secure Columbus facility. The final step involves melting down the metal pieces for recycling, guaranteeing absolute destruction. Just like all other services, you’ll receive a certificate of destruction once the process is complete.

Additionally, keep services environmentally friendly—always use a service that offers electronic recycling for your hard drives and media once they’ve been destroyed. This will be compliant with EPA regulations as well as state hazardous waste requirements.