Secure and effective destruction of unwanted data: Data is being produced in ever increasing quantities by businesses and this means that not only does it have to be stored securely, but also disposed of securely when it is deemed no longer of worth to the business.

Breaches of data security are regularly in the headlines. Additionally, one third of online equipment resellers had erased data using insecure methods or not erased at all.

There are also legal considerations, such as GDPR. The implications of an infringement of breaching DPA 2018 (GDPR) are costly and apart from the lasting damage to corporate reputation, the financial impact could be devastating.

Most large organisations are acutely aware of the risks posed by the disposal of data bearing IT assets and have robust policies and procedures in place to ensure that they are protected from the risk of a data breach. However, tape media can often be treated as an afterthought and the fact that it can hold huge amount of data can be overlooked. I have seen numerous incidents of used tapes being sold by brokers, by non-specialised disposal companies and even non accredited ITAD’s over the years.

We have also seen many examples where used cartridges have been cleaned up and repackaged for sale as new and actually still have the original users data on the tape.

It is vital that any company disposing of tape works with a proven partner who fully understands the product and can be trusted to use approved equipment and processes for the job.

There are various secure ways available to dispose of data on tape and Titan is well placed to help advise and provide the appropriate methods, services and equipment for any requirement.

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