Data Erasure - Overwriting That Is Verified and Complete

Data overwriting is the data destruction method of choice if hard drives are to be reused. As long as processes are in place to ensure the hard drive is 100% overwritten, and that all hard drives are fully processed, data overwriting is effective. A missed or incomplete hard drive wipe can be extremely costly to an organization.

Data Erasure - Plus the Important Added Step of Validation

If hard drives are to be resold or reused, Sims removes the hard drive from your equipment, and mounts the hard drive on our data erasure machines. Following procedures in strict compliance with US NIST Special Publication 800-88 Guidelines, your data is 100% overwritten. This process may include overwriting not only the logical storage location of a file(s) (e.g., file allocation table) to be erased or deleted, but also the entire media including all addressable locations. The security goal of the overwriting process is to replace sensitive data with nonsensitive random data.

Media is overwritten a minimum of three times, based on the information sensitivity contained on the media.

Sims has clearly defined processes in place to ensure all hard drives are 100% overwritten, and that no hard drive is skipped in the process. An additional validation step in the Sims process provides assurance that data erasure is complete. Any hard drives identified with residual data are destroyed.

Validation of Data Destruction

An important final QC step, implemented by Sims, goes one step beyond NIST guidelines. As a final step prior to resell, your hard drive is connected to our verification station and tested to verify complete data removal.

This final validation step is important and often overlooked by other companies.

Our Sims Recycling Solutions Contact Page lists our U.S. offices and offers several ways to contact us, by location, email, phone or contact form.