4 ways to destroy data β which one fits your ITAD strategy? π
Hard drives and SSDs leave your building every day. Reused, resold, or recycled β but is the data truly gone?
Not all destruction methods are equal. Some leave drives reusable. Others guarantee compliance but zero reuse.
Weβve broken down the 4 most common ITAD methods into a simple guide:
π Environmental impact
π Data safety rating
π Best use case
1. Erasure β Software overwrites every sector of a storage device with data, making original information unrecoverable while keeping the drive fully usable, complies with the NIST 800-88 standards
β’ Environmental: β β β β (drive can be reused or resold; minimal waste)
β’ Data safety: β β β β (all sectors covered)
Best for internal reuse & resale
2. Degaussing β magnetic field (>10,000 Gauss) instantly scrambles the driveβs magnetic domains, but renders the drive non-reusable.
β’ Environmental: β (non-reusable; only recycling for metals/boards)
β’ Data safety: β β β β (effective, but lacking visual audit proof)
3. Physical Destruction β specialized machine drills four holes and bends the drive, visibly destroying platters and read/write heads, shredded into small pieces as the final step
β’ Environmental: β (non-reusable; only recycling)
β’ Data safety: β β β β β (visible for audit tracking; on-site available)
Most trusted β’ On-site available
Which method does your organisation rely on? β»οΈ
Contact Us if you need help on handling all IT Equipment that balances security, sustainability, and cost.
