ITAD: Why Businesses should Rethink their Security IT Asset Disposal System

In a data-driven environment, we’re continuously exchanging, storing, and creating heaps of data, which is perhaps the reason for data becoming the fuel of the modern digital world.

As per the latest stats, the total amount of data created, copied, and consumed globally is predicted to surge beyond 64.2 zettabytes in 2020. And in the next five years, the same is projected to grow approximately 180 zettabytes.

The exponential growth in data consumption and creation is multiple times greater than expected due to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic as the internet becomes the second home for everyone.

But what’s worrisome is that the surging number of data consumption and storage does not necessarily guarantee its secure usage and safe disposal.

Every organization needs to understand the importance of their IT asset disposition (ITAD), which ensures their business’s sensitive information isn’t compromised when their storage devices exit the organization’s control.

But why do businesses need to quickly put their best foot forward in adopting ITAD best practices?

Well, as per IBM’s cost of a data breach report 2021, the average cost of a breach at organizations with high-level compliance failures is $5.65m, which is quite alarming for every business.

Let’s understand the importance of ITAD and why organizations need to rethink their security IT asset disposal system.

What is ITAD?

Many of you won’t be aware of the term “ITAD.” Let’s understand what it is and why it’s becoming the need of the hour.

As the modern digital world relies on sophisticated IT hardware, the need to dispose of the retiring equipment significantly intensifies.

Organizations must ensure their sensitive information remains secure, and they must consider the environmental and financial factors while they dispose of their old storage devices.

However, the conventional shredders and scrapheap no longer solve the purpose.

IT asset disposal/disposition (ITAD) is the practice of where and how to dispose of old IT hardware, including storage devices and computers.

Several third-party ITAD providers offer solutions to handle IT assets through secure destruction through compliant practices that have minimal effect on the environment and overall budgets.

Understanding the Risks

Organizations with redundant equipment are always in a dilemma regarding whether they should dispose of, recycle, or resell their IT assets.

However, most of them consider disposing of through regular shredders in-house or hiring third-party service providers, which can be costly at times.

But improper disposal of IT hardware may lead to security breaches since data can be extracted from devices that aren’t disposed of properly.

With ITAD, organizations can reduce the risks, including bad press, data breaches, and environmental concerns, through a regulatory compliant procedure.

Let’s understand this through various considerations satisfied by ITAD:

• The need for adequate data security during the disposition process is seen significantly when data breaches and non-compliance risks increase.
• Considering compliant IT disposition helps organizations avoid hefty fines associated with environmental or data mismanagement.
• Educating an organization on the ecological sensitivity of various components found in IT hardware helps in making better decisions while retiring and disposing of old hardware.

Why Invest in ITAD Processes

Till now, you’ve been able to recognize the importance of ITAD and its role. Let’s have a look at some of the crucial aspects that demand businesses to invest in ITAD processes.

Reducing Carbon Footprints and Enhancing Sustainability

Many business leaders embark on minimizing carbon footprints and other environmental impacts that further improve sustainability.

But how can a business leveraging hundreds of data centers, including in-house and shared cloud, minimize their storage significantly when global demands rise every day?

Well, businesses are now remarketing their IT assets that are no longer useful for them. This practice not only resolves the issues related to the environment but eventually creates an additional revenue stream.

Moreover, businesses are pledging towards creating a cleaner and greener environment and recycling products to minimize the impact.

Ensuring Compliance

Since hard drives, smartphones, and computers contain data, cybercriminals can exploit it even if they’re entirely formatted before recycling/disposition.

So even if the device or a hard drive is expected to be recycled or remarketed, ensuring data formatting is crucial more than ever before. Failing to do so may open doors to data misuse or identity thefts that can be risky for organizations and consumers.

Now the question is, why is it necessary to implement proper ITAD?

Well, several states have different data regulatory compliances. Every organization that stores, manages, and uses consumer data must adhere to these compliances. If an organization fails to comply with these regulatory compliances, it is entitled to huge fines.

Apart from this, no organization would be willing to face enormous financial and reputational loss just because of a data breach due to inadequate ITAD practices. Hence every organization must consider implementing regulatory compliant ITAD procedures.

Final Thoughts

Since data wiping is quite efficient, quality control of this process ensures data is erased as per the standards without overlooking compliances.

With the increasing number of data breaches and data management regulations like the GDPR becoming more stringent, CISOs are left with no choice but to enforce robust security measures that mitigate data breach risks.

But many businesses consider ITAD practices to be a significant investment, which isn’t the case.

ITAD implementation is usually cost-neutral and can even be profitable for businesses if the IT assets are remarketed in niche markets that offer reasonable prices.

IT managers and CISOs cannot just neglect the endless benefits of ITAD processes. Companies can leverage in-house disposition, but relying on third-party vendors could be the best way to ensure compliance without compromising data security.