Are you at Risk?

Data security is an increasingly crucial issue to organizations as they upgrade and dispose of retired IT equipment. A single incident can cost a company millions. Whether you use a third party vendor or your own internal staff to ensure all data is wiped, your organization could be at significant risk if not following proper procedures for IT asset disposition. But how do you know?

Evaluate Your Risk

Does your organization:

  • Electronically track inventory at EACH step of the ITAD process to eliminate human risk, including offering an onsite inventory reconciliation and data status report before shipment from your location, as well as a post shipment inventory check?
  • Sanitize assets onsite at your location before transporting equipment offsite?
  • Destroy devices onsite when data cannot be properly wiped?
  • Remember data is stored on not-so-obvious devices, e.g., copiers, smart
    phones, USB drives, etc.?
  • Receive a real-time final report verifying data destruction and equipment
    inventory before shipment?
  • Use only financially stable, insured vendors with proven track records?
  • Avoid vendors who use third party sub-contractors?
  • Visit your ITAD vendor’s facility to vet their process?
  • Understand what happens to your retired equipment downstream?

If you answer NO to any of these questions... your company could become a data breach statistic. Let U.S. Micro teach you how to safeguard your process.

Lessons Learned
Blue Cross of Tennessee
  • 57 hard drives stolen while
    awaiting shipment to a data
    sanitization vendor
  • $7 million in forensic costs
  • More than one million customers
    impacted

Lesson learned: Don't remove hard drives before they are wiped. It's easier to lose your keys than your car.

State of New Jersey
  • Government agencies nearly auctioned off computers with Social Security numbers, confidential child abuse reports and personnel reviews

Lesson learned: Make sure your ITAD vendor inventories all equip- ment & provides confirmation that all data has been wiped

HealthNet
  • Lost nine servers containing personal information on 1.9 million policyholders
  • Servers had been decommissioned
    when HealthNet moved its data centers to a different location
  • HealthNet paid for credit monitoring services for those impacted

Lesson learned: Deciding who should protect your data is an important decision