With studies showing that the financial impact of a data breach averages out at close to US $4million, it is safe to say that data security has a pivotal role to play in keeping a business profitable. Without a program of risk management, any business faces the possibility of serious financial damage. This makes it all the more important to consider the following steps in your business.

Make a data destruction plan and stick to it

When your company’s digital infrastructure undergoes a substantial upgrade, your corporate data security policy could be found wanting. If data-bearing hardware is removed from a structure, it is essential to have a plan for its destruction, with thorough guidelines for managing replaced equipment.

Account for global variation

If you have offices in more than one country, ensure that you have protocols in place for the consistent management of data destruction across all sites. Take into account that managing data-bearing devices presents challenges over and above simple inventory. For example, you may want to consider whether or not to destroy a device onsite or offsite - your policy for this should be standardized across site operations to mitigate risk and follow consistent best practices across the fleet.

Create an exhaustive inventory

The time has long passed when a business’s data was held on one centralized device; there are now more devices than ever, and they’re carrying more data. Make sure you know at all times who holds what device, and what information is held on each. When the time comes to dispose of such items, it is crucial to retrieve them promptly and in full.

Be aware of regulatory obligations

Regulations for disposal of devices can vary across national and even regional borders. In each different location, they can also change at short notice, so it is of fundamental importance that you know what your obligations are. Keep in mind that when it comes to disposal, you may have to consider regulations both from an environmental standpoint as well as a data protection one.

Learn more about Dataknox data destruction services, including data sanitization, asset recovery, logistics and install/refresh/de-installs.