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Hard drives contain vital information, so users, especially businesses, don’t want confidential information leaked. Hence, private and government organizations find different ways of destroying the hard drive data. The first step they perform is to delete data permanently from PC. One of the easiest ways to destroy hard drive data is to destroy it physically. But physically destroying data is not a brilliant solution.
Here, we shall discuss why the physical destruction of data is dangerous and harmful to the environment. Also, we will discuss a data eraser tool that effectively wipes out all the confidential data.
Why is the physical destruction of hard drives dangerous?
There are numerous reasons why physically destroying hard drives is outdated and dangerous. A few of the important reasons are mentioned below:
- Toxic waste generated
When you attempt to delete files permanently from your Windows recycle bin, no waste is produced. But when hard drives are physically destroyed, by breaking them with a hammer or using a drill machine or any other DIY methods, they generate a huge amount of electronic waste. This is a major worldwide issue that creates harmful waste, disturbing the environmental balance.According to the United Nations report, 50 million tons of electronic waste was generated in the year 2018, out of which only 20% was recycled or reused.
- Hard Drives can be reused
Completely erasing confidential data from the hard drive can free up space that can be reused. Having a spare hard drive is always a good idea. Any hard disk which might be old or discarded for you can be of great use to others. People living in remote areas cannot afford to buy hard drives; these old hard drives can be of great use to them. - Can cause data leakage
Degaussing the hard drives might sound like a cheaper way of destroying confidential information, but this method can be the most expensive. The recommended shred width of a discarded hard drive is 2mm or smaller. Often companies fail to break the drive into such smaller parts, and hence even a single large broken piece can leak the data. There are specialized tools that can easily recover data from broken chips in very less time.
So, physically destroying hard drives is a risky business. There are different ways in which you can destroy vital information from the drives without the risk of data leakage. This is done by using various data erasing tools available in the market that completely wipes out the data without causing any environmental damage or risk of data outflow.
One such professional tool is Kernel File Shredder. This shredding tool works wonders when it comes to destroying confidential data. It has powerful algorithms that shred the file and make it impossible to restore. It wipes out data on storage media such as SSDs, USB drives, hard drives, and memory cards. It comes with an automatic file shredding feature that executes file shredding at a prescheduled time.
Read also : How reliable and safe are online file shredders?
Summary
Physical destruction of hard drives is not an environment-friendly practice, yet many companies use them. Moreover, some people use DIY methods to destroy drives physically at home. Using professional tools which are readily available are the safest and cheapest option to destroy unwanted data. It is environment-friendly and also deletes the data beyond recovery.
