Hard Drives....Here, There and Almost Everywhere!

                                     

by:  Tom Hinz

The certification requirements

Based on the NAID certification requirements for media endorsement, including hard drive destruction, Integra must have a written and verifiable process for the physical destruction of conventional computer hard drives which render them unreadable and unreconstructable, and we do. We first record and retain the serial numbers of all the hard drives being destroyed for each client and provide the client with printed materials of our procedures and methods as well as certifications of destructions.

The definition

Let’s back up a step and define what a hard drive is. With the help of Wikipedia, we learn that a hard drive (or disk drive) is a device for storing and retrieving digital information, primarily computer data. It consists of one or more rapidly rotating disks
called platters. The drives also have magnetic heads arranged to write data to the surfaces and read it from them.

More than just in your computer

Are hard drives found in my PC, my laptop, my notebook? Check, Check, Check. My photocopier-check! Wait a minute….in my photocopier? Yes, that’s right. According to a CBS News report, nearly every digital copier built since 2002 contains a hard drive
storing an image of every document copied, scanned or emailed. Now, if you’re anything like me, you may have made a copy of nearly every important document you have. In my case, these include my driver’s license, social security card, passport, medical
records, car titles, property deeds, mortgage records, insurance papers and the like.

These records are safe, right?

Perhaps they are safe as long as my home copier stays in my home. But, what if I improperly discard it or trade it in for another model…..what happens to my data then? Well, if I’m not diligent to have the data professionally wiped or overridden, it’s still
there for the next owner to have, like it or not…..and I don’t! Well, it wasn’t until I read further into the article did I realize how at risk my data really is. Should my copier hard drive fall into the wrong hands, it only takes minutes to locate and remove the hard drive. Then, using a forensic program available for free from the internet, a scan of the drive
can be run downloading up to tens of thousands of images in less than 12 hours. Are you thinking, “Wow” like I am?

Some good news to report

In my home, I must be personally responsible to have my copier hard drive destroyed when I retire it to the Waste Away Group for electronic recycling, and I will now. Outside of the home, it is our belief that awareness to the responsibility of the federal
privacy laws such as HIPAA, HITECH and FACTA is increasing. Business is taking these laws, among others, which are meant to safeguard personal information they are in possession of, more seriously. And, so are we! It is our goal to continue to educate our
clientele through informational blogs like this one as well as provide state-of-the-art hard destruction services. Look for more information on the laws in an upcoming issue. Be aware and be safe….together, it is our responsibility.

Contributions by
Tom Hinz, Integra Account Manager, a Waste Away Group company
Wikipedia
CBS News
NAID Certification Policies

SIZE MATTERS.....particle size, that is!

by:  Tom Hinz

Well, in our economy, it's particle size matters to be specific.  To quote a line from the 1889 read of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain; he writes, "She was wise, subtle and knew more than one way to skin a cat."

That is, more than one way to get the job done!  

I will admit that there is indeed more than one way to destroy a document.  Yes, you can bury it in a plastic bag in your backyard, let Mother Nature do her thing and hope it's never unearthed to become fodder for the next identity thief.   Yes, you can dispose of it in your trash because you are certain that your trash ends up in the landfill, right?  That could be true, but can't you catch a glimpse in your mind's eye of what a "dumpster diver" looks like?  Yes, you can burn your documents!!  Now, there's an environmentally friendly way to take care of business, but it can be cheap and thorough, right?

Think about this as reported to us last year from Lt. Cindy Kilgore and Michiana Area Crimestoppers.  She writes, "A study released in 2010 from Javelin Strategy and Research indicated that 11.1 million people were victims of identity theft in 2009 to the tune of $54 billion in fraud.  Victims spent hours and hundreds of dollars trying to resolve their crime."  This crime does not always happen to somebody else. It can happen to any of us. In a later blog I will write about what the law has to say regarding how business must handle personal information they have in their possession.

Why is all of this important?  Well, it's a reminder to each of us that when it comes to the proper way to destroy a document, size matters!  When you see the next Integra truck roll by, take a note of the AAA certification logo.  This top level NAID endorsement is not only highly regarded, but it must be earned and requires diligent effort to maintain.  And, to keep this rating, our destruction process and audit methodology must prove that our shredded particle size meets or exceeds the certification specifications produced by the commercial grade destruction equipment we use in our trucks and at our plant. 

And we do!

So, no matter how you skin it, or should I say, destroy it by continuous shred, cross cut, pierce & tear, pulverize, disintegrate or hammermill methods, size matters to us!

Sources: Tom Hinz, Account Manager, Integra Certified Document Destruction, LLC

Lt. Cindy Kilgore, Michiana Area Crimestoppers

National Association of Information Destruction (AAA Certification Requirements)

WWW.Worldwidewords.org 

The Environmental Impact of Document Destruction

by:  Tom Hinz

Many people have asked me over the years how recycling their shredded paper impacts the environment in a positive way.  Here is why that’s such a good question---we all know that the knowledge of a securely destroyed document is one bookend of the event, responsibly conserving our nation’s natural resources is the other.  For example, when Integra Certified Document Destruction recently partnered with the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce and the Elkhart County Solid Waste Management District for the annual Clean Your Files Day, our goal for the 350 people that showed up was to provide the peace of mind that is inherent with destroying items like old files, tax records, cancelled checks and the like.   But, that’s only half of the story.

Here is the other half…..the collection of over 40,000 pounds of paper in a single day must make a difference, and it does in a very big way.   Should you wonder how 20 tons of shredded and recycled paper will directly affect the environment, let these numbers sink in:

Saved were       

336 trees
7,515 gallons of oil
59 cubic yards of landfill space
79,110 kilowatts of energy
138,442 gallons of water while preventing 1,187 pounds of pollution entering the air!!

So, remember that when you bring your files to the 2013 Clean Your Files Day and have them destroyed by a professional destruction firm such as Integra, you are not only protecting yourself from identity theft, you are being environmentally minded, which is a very good thing for all of us!

Contributed by Tom Hinz, Account Manager for Integra Certified Document Destruction and
                                Megan Kolaczyk, Environmental Utility Coordinator for the Elkhart Indiana Environmental Center

How to Wipe a Hard Drive

powered by Fotopedia

Many people wonder how to securely wipe a hard drive before it is shredded.  This extra step can provide further peace of mind.  A free open source utility called DBAN can be used to digitally shred a hard drive. You can find this utility at http://www.dban.org.

How does this utility work? The Wikipedia article on DBAN explains how:  "The program is designed to securely erase a hard disk until data is permanently removed and no longer recoverable, which is achieved by overwriting the data with random numbers......
DBAN can be booted from a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive and it is based on Linux. It supports PATA (IDE), SCSI and SATA hard drives. DBAN can be configured to automatically wipe every hard disk that it sees on a system, making it very useful for unattended data destruction scenarios. DBAN exists for Intel x86 and PowerPC systems.

DBAN, like other methods of data destruction, is suitable for use prior to computer recycling for personal or commercial situations, such as donating or selling a computer^[2]. In the case of malware infection, DBAN can be used before returning a disk to production."

Give it a try.