Companies are starting to realize just how important data is. With that said, many companies are so hyper-focused on data analysis that they neglect things like data protection and data erasure.
Data erasure is vital as it prevents sensitive data from getting into the wrong hands. So why exactly is data erasure so important, and how should you do it? This article tells you everything you need to know on the subject.
It Might Be a Legal Requirement
One of the biggest reasons why you need to consider data destruction is because it could be a legal requirement for your company. If you work with customers’ sensitive data, there might be certain limitations on how long you can keep that data.
If you want to avoid getting into trouble for violating data protection laws, you’ll need to make sure you erase customer information. If you want to work with a certified data erasure company, consider working with a company like certus.software/en/data-erasure/
It Protects Your Customers
Even if there’s no legal requirement for you to delete customer data, it still might make sense to work with a data erasure service. If your customer information gets leaked, it could be very damaging for your customers.
For instance, information such as email or physical addresses could be leaked in a hack. In this case, customers could lose confidence in your company. Regularly erasing data can help protect your customers from these kinds of risks.
It’s Hard to Predict How Cybercriminals Could exploit data
In a world of machine learning algorithms, it’s hard to predict exactly what a program could figure out, This means that you could inadvertently expose yourself to security risks by keeping data.
As data analytics AI gets more popular, this is going to become more of an issue.
How to Destroy Data
There are three main ways that you might destroy data. Each one has it’s own unique advantages and disadvantages.
Degaussing
This is a method that uses high-powered magnets to physically destroy the data. This can be a quick and efficient way to destroy data, but it only works in certain circumstances.
Specifically, it only works on hardware that relies on a magnetic field, such as a hard disk.
Physical Destruction
This involves destroying the device containing the data so that it can’t possibly be put back together. If you can properly destroy the device, this method is foolproof, but it may be time-consuming and messy.
Overwriting
This method works well if you want to keep the device the data is stored on functional. When you delete data from a hard drive, you’re simply deleting a signpost to it. The actual data is still there.
If you truly want the data to be gone, you need to write over it with something else. There are many specialized apps out there that can help to facilitate this kind of data destruction.
Data Erasure Is a Vital Part of Doing Business
If you want to succeed in modern business, you need to master data. While data analysis is essential, you can’t afford to neglect data erasure as well. Failing to properly erase data could cause your company some serious problems.
If you want to learn more about some other business-related topics, check out the rest of our blog posts.
GAG Staff