The way a company's data is protected and stored can make or break a business. That’s why data protection services remain such an essential part of our business.

In the digital age, nothing is more precious than your data. The way a company's data is protected and stored can make or break a business, and can be the pivotal difference in its potential for growth. That’s why data protection services remain such an essential part of our business; we know that to future-proof your company, your data needs to be properly protected.

Often this means that irrelevant or unnecessary data needs to be destroyed, such as when you’re looking to decommission your IT hardware or in periods of organisational change. Data destruction and decommissioning is a process that should be transparent, and it’s essential that sensitive business information is handled with the utmost care to ensure your business assets and reputation remain safe long-term.

What are the risks if it is not done properly?

A data breach is the primary risk incurred by not properly destroying data. When you haven’t invested in expert data destruction and data shredding services, the likelihood of confidential data being stolen increases significantly.

This could range from external individuals getting access to a single document to your entire data suite being compromised. From here, those with your data can use it in whatever way they please, which usually involves malicious intent. Often, you’re none the wiser until it’s too late.

From here, you’ll incur larger and longer-term business expenses to attempt to clean up the mess the best you can. When you don’t invest in a provider that uses quality data destruction software from the onset, you prolong the data destruction process and inevitably incur more costs. Even without the threat of a data breach, you may discover that at-home solutions to data destruction haven't met your needs and that you need to invest even further to reach the solution you were initially searching for.

Data destruction services ensure that you get rid of every piece of data on hard drives, storage, work computers, and servers. When this is done poorly, and the aforementioned data breach occurs, there’s a far higher risk of reputational damage.

This is particularly essential for those working in customer-focused sectors, where a data breach could mean that confidential information about individuals is released to hackers or into other unsavoury hands. The fallout of this happening is a large decrease in customer trust; if you’ve poorly handled their data in the past, their loyalty to you will likely sharply decrease.

In cases of large breaches or those of a very personal or sensitive nature, there’s also ahigh risk of negative media attention. This can have many knock-on effects fora business, as a negative reputation amongst the public and in the eyes of key stakeholders can greatly impact their potential for future growth.

What is the difference between data destruction and document destruction?

When it comes to the difference between data and document destruction services, the answer comes down to each process's level of difficulty. When you destroy a document, be it through a shredder or through other methods such as burning them, you have total confidence that the document will cease to exist and that your data is safe.

In comparison, data destruction brings with it a sense of digital permanency that requires a wider suite of tools to overcome. Unlike a shredded document that can be easily discarded, data destruction involves ongoing maintenance, professional management, trained technicians and expert software to ensure this same level of permanent deletion.

For example, the expert auditing team at Computer Recycling use internationally recognised, leading data destruction software Blancco to permanently erase data. From here, they provide a full report and certification to clients, which details the steps that were taken to ensure data destruction was completed successfully and for the client's needs. This software writes over your existing data in a complex and secure way, rendering it unreadable and therefore deleting the contents. Just as we shred documents to physically destroy them, this software is the best solution to permanently delete digital data.

Ensure your provider offers you complete clarity in the data destruction process. We offer all of our customers' documentation of the process from beginning to end, because we know that transparency around data is essential to business confidence.

The types of media that can be destroyed

It’s possible to destroy almost every kind of professional media or hardware type available. These include Hard drives, PCs, mobiles, laptops, removable storage, servers - essentially, anything digital or that has a plug. An expert technician, such as those at Computer Recycling, should have extensive experience dealing with all of these media types.

Can I DIY with data destruction software?

The short answer is yes, you can. You’ll find a solution to almost anything somewhere on the internet, and you may be able to delete some aspects of your data using these services.

However, as we’ve talked about already in this blog, there’s a range of risks that come with DIY-ing data security. From data breaches to reputational damage, the costs you save by going solo with data destruction are outweighed significantly by the potential for things to go wrong.

When it comes to something as precious as your data, there really is no room for error. Our advice will always be to get a professional involved, one who has spent years dealing with the intricacies of data erasure in NZ and cares about your long-term business privacy.

How to get your data destroyed

There are a range of providers who can help you erase your data securely, including our expert team. To get started simply drop off or send the media you’d like destroyed to our Auckland HQ, and our trained technicians will start the process of data erasure.

Our preference is to do it in our custom-built facilities, as we have all of the correct technology and our expert teams to hand. However we do offer the option of on-site data destruction. This involves a slightly different process, and you can access more information and pricing here.

Consult with a professional

If you’ve got any questions or you have any doubts, always touch base with a professional provider. We’re one of New Zealand’s leading data destruction companies and provide full service e-waste recycling services for businesses. Reach out to us today.

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