Hard Drive Erasers & Duplicators
A loss of sensitive computer data stored on a hard drive can cost a company or organization not only valuable employee work and computer time – but if critical data is lost that needs to be recreated, this could set a project deadline back by weeks or months. In order to avert such dangerous losses, both in terms of time and money, every organization or company’s internal IT departments should have hard drive duplicators and erasers on hand. Hand-held duplicator-erasers are now available for just a few hundred dollars per unit, so there is no excuse for a company not to have this kind of basic equipment ready and available.
In addition to time and money, new laws about the process of data management and disposal need to be taken into consideration. Companies can no longer simply throw away computer backup tape or hard drives because it is illegal to do so. Laws have been passed over the past few years that require companies and organizations to be responsible for the information they’ve collected and the manner in which this information is discarded, both for data security and environmental reasons. Such laws include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Corporations in violation of these laws can not only face severe financial penalties – their officers can face jail time. It’s in everyone’s best interest to be compliant as regards data management and disposal.
Hard Drive Duplicators: What You Need To Know
Hard drive duplicators also come in many shapes and sizes, with each unit duplicating a different type of computer hard drive. Before you purchase your HD duplicator, know whether you need it to be able to simply copy the data, image the drive sector by sector, or close specific sectors of the hard drive. Some units will copy but not clone, or not clone individual sectors, so make sure you are getting the tool that will perform the specific task your company needs. Many hard drive duplicators offer optional adapters that will work with not only full sized drives, but also laptop drives, solid state drives and flash media.
Hard Drive Erasers: What You Need To Know
Your company or organization has computer hard drives that need to be erased – and then either reused or discarded. What next?
There are three basic means of “erasing” data (i.e., making that data inaccessible) on a computer hard disk drive: erase the drive by using a software overwrite program; magnetically neutralize the data on the drive by using a degausser; or physically destroy the disk itself. There are many varietals of hard drive erasers on the market, and each has its own unique pros and cons.
Degaussers provide a stand-alone hardware solution that resets and neutralizes the magnetic charge of a hard drive, thus erasing the data stored on the drive. However, this is only appropriate for drives that are being decommissioned and will not be reused, as the demagnetizing process also erases the servo tracks that allow the drive to interface with a device, thus rendering it useless. However, if you have drives that are not working or have bad sectors on the drive that are inaccessible, degaussing will erase them.
Software hard drive erasers can come in varying formats, either as stand-alone units that employ a software overwrite, which can vary in terms of the number of overwrite passes that are made, or simply as software programs that can be purchased on CD or downloaded online. These eraser units are ideal for hard drives that are not being decommissioned or retired but will instead be reformatted and immediately reused. Overwriting devices oftentimes utilize either their own proprietary overwrite software or they enable the NSA-specification Secure Erase command, which comes preinstalled on many ATA hard drives manufactured after 2001. Hard drive physical destroyers or shredders mangle the physical HDD so that the data becomes unrecoverable. Some of these types of units literally shred the drive and casing into cross-cut pieces, and some of them crush the drive and casing, bending it in half.
Oftentimes, companies are now degaussing or erasing their disks and then physically destroying them, which provides an additional level of fail-safe security for that organization’s sensitive data.
The Right Duplicator-Eraser for the Right Hard Drive
Most hard drive duplicators and software erasers are drive-specific to the type of drive. Thus, ATA, SCSI and SAS drives will all require different equipment for duplicating and erasing. That said, sometimes adapters are available for conversions. Be sure to inquire what specific types of hard drives the unit processes and make sure you’re getting the right equipment for your needs, and that if you require flexibility, that you can get the adapters for what you need. Hard Drive Destroyers: The Ultimate in Data Security? Many organizations in today’s market are opting for the security provided in physically destroying their hard drives before decommissioning them. Degaussing or erasing a hard drive and then physically destroying it by mangling, crushing or shredding provides peace of mind to the consumer because once the hard drive has been mangled, the data is forensically irrecoverable.
Computer Forensic Equipment
The latest generation of computer forensic equipment is straight out of a high-tech spy thriller. There are now palm-sized gadgets that will clone a hard drive from a closed laptop in just a few minutes, and yet other forensic devices that block any write commands to the drive being copied. Many law enforcement agencies require specific computer forensic devices that will clone hard drives exactly as they are, without generating any additional writes to the drive, which would produce an inexact copy of the drive. In certain legal situations, a drive must be cloned exactly and cannot differ from the suspect’s drive.
Erasers and Duplicators That Meet Government (NSA, DoD) Specifications
Do you work for a government organization that requires either Department of Defense or National Security Agency compliance in a hard drive eraser? There are a variety of HD erasers and hard drive degaussers available on the market today that meet NSA and DoD erasure specifications.
Chain of Control
The growing trend within our industry is to outsource data management or destruction to a third party, oftentimes a company who deals in data destruction or recycling. However, keeping control of sensitive data on premises is of critical importance. Any time a third party is involved or your sensitive data is transported off site, there is a break in the chain of control, and that data might possibly be compromised. Now, with strict federal mandates as regards data security, why risk legal exposure to your company or organization by sending sensitive data offsite without taking the necessary precautions? There are hard drive erasers, media degaussers and hard drive destroyers available across a variety of price points. It is a much safer proposition for any organization to degauss or erase any media in house before it’s shipped off site to a third party.
New, Used, Rental Equipment
Most hard drive equipment can be found at a variety of price points either for purchase as a new or used unit, or can be rented easily so that hard drives can be duplicated or erased on site and do not have to leave the company premises.
