Data Destruction: Why and How?
Regardless of profession, we need to keep records of everything, and these records or data can be in the form of hard copies or digital copies. The U.S. has a number of federal laws, such as HIPAA, FACTA, GLBA and SOX, that protect the privacy of individuals by regulating the proper disposal of personal information. Therefore, all business that have access to personal data should regularly and appropriately dispose of unnecessary information.
As it is a hectic job to keep a record of the needed and destructible data, there are companies that offer data destruction in OKC. Aside from the laws that mandate data privacy protection, there are several benefits of data destruction. Here are some of those benefits, as well as a definition of data destruction.
About Data Destruction
Data destruction allows people to destroy records containing personal information such as a person’s whereabouts, medical conditions, financial details, status of law maintenance, etc. Such data can be dangerous if mishandled, so if it is no longer needed, it should be destroyed. Calling MIDCON Shredding for data destruction in OKC can solve this problem.
Methods of Data Destruction
The benefit of data destruction lies in protecting one’s personal information. It is not possible for anyone to retrieve the data and learn about that person if it is destroyed after it is no longer useful. This can prevent crimes like identity theft.
There are two primary methods of data destruction and several subsections of each.
When the data is stored on hard drives or in the form of paper documents, physical destruction is needed. With this method, data can be destroyed in three ways:
- Shredding is the most common way to destroy data. The papers are cut into small pieces using the cross-cut method so that the information becomes impossible to reassemble. Data destruction agencies in OKC often provide this cross-cut shredding process, which is more effective than other shredding methods. The shredded papers are gathered and recycled to complete the destruction process.
- Incineration is the process in which the paper is burned. This is more effective for data protection, but it is not an eco-friendly process.
- Pulverization involves using high pressure to crush objects containing data so that they are no longer usable. Like incineration, this option is effective but harmful to the environment.
In this era of technology, if anyone thinks that going paperless can solve all problems, they are living in a fool’s paradise. Digital copies of documents can be hacked and misused at any point in time. To prevent this problem, there are two prominent methods of electronic destruction:
- Overwriting is a method in which the data is overwritten with files of junk information. Once the data is overwritten, it is extremely difficult to recover. Overwriting multiple times can make the data even more secure. Though it is not unquestionably effective, it is a prevalent way of securing data. Experts in data destruction in OKC can help with this.
- Encryption is a common term that is also used for data protection. It is not equivalent to data destruction, because the data is protected with private and public cipher keys to code the data using algorithms.
Based on your unique needs and preferences, we at MIDCON Shredding can suggest the best method of data destruction in OKC for you. Call us today to get started!