Flexible, Secure, Data Shredding Services

We offer secure, professional, data shredding services for individuals and businesses of all sizes across Texas.

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The following video gives a quick overview of our data shredding services and how they work, please click the arrow to view.

Secured Data Destruction

Making a choice on which type of destruction to use is always a wise decision. We at Houston data shredding center want to make it easy to everyone when it comes to individual or company data destruction.

Many people turn to be scare when they hear this terminology “data destruction,” guest what? Their face registers a look of fear. The last thing in the world that most people want is for the data on their computer or mobile device and other related device to be properly destroyed. The reality is whether you are the owner of a large, medium or small business, there will come a day when you need to upgrade and you will need to decommission some of those old equipment in other to remove or replace them. Definitely, you will need to make sure that any data stored on them is erased and unrecoverable. According to the finding I have done shows that, erase, Delete/Reformat, Wipe, Overwriting data should be the last option to choose if you really want your data to be properly destroyed. There is no question of doubt that physical shredding is 100% best and guarantee which is what our company used.

Forms of Data Destruction

Fortunately, there are several different ways to destroy data. Unfortunately, none of these methods are perfect nor can any one particular method promise complete success except shredding. But knowing the available methods will help you choose the one that is right for you or your business. We at Houston Data Shredding center will highly recommend these first two methods for any company

Physical Destruction

Many individuals want to recycle their old equipment but are reluctant to do so because of the information the equipment may contain. Frequently, these people pull out the hard drive and a hammer and smash it to bits. Interestingly enough, physical destruction is also an efficient way for organizations and businesses of all sizes to destroy data. One of physical destruction’s best features is that it will give an organization the highest probability that data has been destroyed. However, it can be costly, and since it involves the destruction of electronic media, there is a high capital cost as well. It can also cause a problem if an organization has a green and sustainable program for recycling old electronic media. Degaussing is a form of physical destruction. Incineration is as well, although isn’t common because it requires destruction to occur away from human habitats and creates a chain of custody risk.

Wipe

Data wiping involves overwriting data from an electronic medium so that this data can no longer be read. Data wiping is normally accomplished by physically connecting any media to a bulk wiping device. It can also be accomplished internally by starting a PC from a network or CD. As a process, it allows you to reuse any media wiped in this way without losing storage capacity. Data wiping can take a very long time, sometimes an entire day for just one device. Data wiping may be useful for an individual, but it is impractical for a business owner who has several devices they need wiped.

Overwriting Data

In a real sense, overwriting data is a form of data wiping. When data on an electronic device is overwritten, a pattern of ones and zeros is written over the existing data. The pattern does not need to be random — set patterns can also be used. In most cases overwriting once will accomplish the task. But if the medium is a high-security one, it may require multiple passes. This ensures that all data is completely destroyed and no bit shadows can be detected. A bit shadow is a remnant of information that has been overwritten but can still be detected using an electron microscope. It’s like when someone writes a note on a pad. They can remove the top sheet of paper, but an impression of what they wrote may still be visible on the sheet directly underneath. Bit shadowing remains a concern for high-security operations, but low-risk businesses probably don’t need to concern themselves too much. Recovering data using an electron microscope takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money. That is why we come in with a shredder. Overwriting is perhaps the most common way to destroy data. However, it can take a lot of time and only works when the medium being overwritten has not been damaged and can still have data written to it. It also does not offer any security protection during the overwriting process. Overwriting does not work on any hard drive that contains advanced storage management components. If you are overwriting a device due to legal requirements, you may require a license for every piece of media that is being overwritten. It is not foolproof that everything has been destroyed.

Degaussing

Degaussing destroys computer data using a high-powered magnet which disrupts the magnetic field of an electronic medium. The disruption of the magnetic field destroys the data. Degaussing can effectively and quickly destroy the data in a device storing a large amount of information. However, it has two major disadvantages. When you degauss a piece of electronic equipment, you render its hard drive inoperable. Degaussing destroys the interconnect equipment of the hard drive. This is not the method to choose if you want to reuse an electronic digital device like a laptop, computer or mobile phone. Other just uses this term just to gain contract. Instead of using this method why don’t just shred it out if you have the equipment like we do in my company. The other problem is that you have no way of knowing if all the data has been destroyed. By rendering the hard drive inoperable, you cannot check to see if all the data has been destroyed. The only method to verify data destruction, in this case, is to use an electron microscope. But unless you are destroying high-security information, checking this way is expensive and impractical. Degaussing can also be affected by the density of a hard drive. As technology changes and hard drives improve and grow larger, degaussing is perhaps not as effective a method as it used to be.

Shredding

Another form of physical destruction, shredding may be the most secure and cost-effective way to destroy electronic data in any media that contain hard drives or solid state drives and have reached their end-of-life. It’s also very effective for optical drives, smartphones, tablets, motherboards, thumb drives and credit card swipe devices, to name a few. Shredding is a great way to destroy data if you have a large data enterprise center or a large stockpile of old hard drives and media that you want to destroy. It’s very secure, fast and efficient. Shredding reduces electronic devices to pieces no larger than 2 millimeters. If you work in a high-security environment with high-security data, shredding should be your number one choice as it guarantees that all data is obliterated.

Our great concern is to fight against data breaches.

So let us look at a brief definition of the term DATA BREACHES it is the intentional or unintentional release of secure or private/confidential information to an untrusted environment. Other related terms include unintentional information disclosure, data leak, information leakage, also data spill to name but a few.

Our company makes sure and ensures that data destruction is done to these highest standards.

How Do You Choose a Data Destruction Company?

When choosing a data destruction company, there are several essential elements that you should keep in mind.

Certificates of Sanitization

Make sure the data destruction company provides certificates of sanitization for all media’s data that has been destroyed. One of these certificates, which verifies that the data has been destroyed according to NIST guidelines, is known as a COS. It should include important information like the serial number of the equipment, type of media being destroyed, the source of the media and how the equipment was sanitized. These certificates help ensure that there are no physical data breaches.

Documentation

Make sure the data destruction company supplies documentation. It’s important to have a document that shows a clear audit trail that includes proof of erased data. This is especially important if your company does any business in Europe, where businesses can face substantial fines if they don’t dispose of data according to legislation.

Compliance

Research the companies that you are thinking of hiring to do your data destruction. Once you have it narrowed down to two or three possible providers, ask them for references. Also, check to make sure the companies are insured. If not, that’s a warning sign that they may not be prepared to assume responsibility if there is an accident or mishap with your data. Finally, find out if their employees go through background checks and if they have received any security training.

Methods

Ask them for an explanation of their methods. If a provider is unwilling to explain their methods for data destruction, walk away immediately. Do they begin with a process to discover all the data that needs to be destroyed? Find out if their asset tracking and data erasure platforms connect with each other. This helps reduce the chances of any errors.

Are You Still Worried About Your Data ?

If you’re worried about your data falling into the wrong hands, your best bet is to have it destroyed on-site and in the actual storage device if possible. This provides the fewest risks of any data breach. But that is not always possible. If you need to ship your equipment to another location, it is very important that you retain a record that shows the chain of custody and obtain an explanation of their method of data destruction before you ship any equipment to a data destruction provider’s facility.

We have the expertise and the network of certified partners that allows us to offer you the best and most effective way to meet your company’s internal objectives. When you work with us, we will ensure that our service meets all legal or environmental requirements throughout the entire course of the project.