Is a Certificate of Destruction Necessary?

The breadth and scope of data breaches that have been covered in the news recently makes it very clear that when it comes to data management, maintaining the integrity and security of data is crucial – regardless of whether the data is in use or in the process of being disposed. Any company providing data destruction services, whether in the form of hard drive destruction or degaussing, should do so using methods that allow compliance with data management regulations. One of the strongest tools to guarantee compliance and the safety of data in the disposal process is a Certificate of Destruction.

A Properly Composed Certificate

A Certificate of Destruction contains several key pieces of information in order to serve its purpose. In addition to a unique method of tracking, such as a tracking number, the Certificate should outline when the data was handed over, the method by which it will be destroyed, the names of witnesses, and the location where the documents will be destroyed, and finally, a transfer of custody and fiduciary responsibility.

Assumption of Accountability

The most important reason that a legitimate destruction service should offer a Certificate of Destruction is to ensure the chain of accountability as data passes from the company that owns the data to the company that has agreed to destroy the medium where the data is stored. This accountability is necessary in that it provides a physical document that traces the path of the data through its life to the moment of its destruction and verifies the method and time of destruction for compliance purposes.

Compliance with Legal Requirements

Every industry is governed by requirements for how long data must be maintained, but once the time limits have been reached, the data can be destroyed. How that data should be destroyed is regulated by numerous government mandates. Acceptable methods of data destruction include:

• Data Overwrite: Method of filling a drive’s memory with null data numerous times in order to eliminate data from the drive’s surface. The drive itself is still useable following the procedure.
• Degaussing: A process utilizing strong magnets to destroy the data from the surface of the drive. This process destroys the functionality of the drive as well as the data.
• Hard Drive Destruction: Physical destruction of the drive, which includes shredding the physical drive into unrecoverable pieces, making it impossible to retrieve data from the remains.

As a service provider, 1 Green Planet’s methods of data disposal and the accompanying Certificate of Destruction offers the proper chain of custody and methods for tracking data destruction that comply with government mandates and requirements.

A Necessary Service

1 Green Planet provides recycling services in the Pacific Northwest for companies seeking to offload appliances and e-waste in compliance with regulatory requirements. As part of their e-waste recycling services, 1 Green Planet provides properly composed Certificates of Destruction to those seeking local and sustainable solutions that are 100% environmentally conscious and result in zero impact on landfills.