When moving office, it’s vital that you keep your data secure, in part for your own security, but also to adhere to the legal requirements.
As part of our service, we enable you to uphold your duty of care through adhering to the Data Protection Act 1998, which focuses on the security of data and personal information when transporting, storing and disposing of items during an office move. There are ways that you can get ahead of the game, with data sanitisation.
With so many devices involved in our working lives, there are many ways that data security can fall through gaps
What is data sanitisation?
The process of ensuring that data is unlikely to be retrieved or reconstructed from a storage media device, data sanitisation allows you to re-use the storage medium, without worrying about data breaches.
Sanitisation is necessary when you would like to transfer the storage device to a different user, send it off for repair, dispose of it completely or destruct it. It’s also a level of insurance when you are moving office, as the data is at risk as it is outside its normal environment
The risk of not sanitising data
If you don’t treat storage devices and they are lost or stolen while in transit, you will have lost control over your information and data assets, which could be used in a way that you can’t control, such as to commit fraud with your client’s information. Data breaches could also impact your brand and reputation.
What sort of devices could need attention?
While the workforce changes and we take advantage of working from home, have work phones and computers, and devices in the office, some devices that need attention may not spring to mind immediately. These include photocopiers and printers which can contain data in their memory, along with laptops, PCs, plotters, cameras, scanners, fax machines, phones, servers, routers, switches, receivers and bridges. There will also be smaller items such as CDs, DVDs, BluRay discs, swipe cards, ID cards, smart cards and chip and pin cards.
How would they be sanitised?
This depends on what the item is. Larger items such as monitors come with environmental obligations due to the chemicals they contain.
Degaussing, which uses a strong magnetic field to wipe data, can be used on some devices, when implemented properly. This is a popular method of data sanitisation for use when devices are just on the move, rather than set to be destroyed. All magnetic devices can be wiped in this way.
Are you worried about data in your move?
We offer a confidential transportation and disposal service, as part of our package. This includes ensuring duty of care with the Data Protection Act, complying with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, and we are also registered with the Environmental Agency.
If you would like to know more about your obligations and ensure that nothing falls through the gaps, please get in touch. We’d be happy to advise or help.