EOL hammers hard-drive destruction advice

One of Britain’s leading data security companies has hit out at new advice on removing sensitive information from computer hard drives.

EOL IT Services, as a major independent IT refurbishment company, has branded a Which? Computing magazine study “irresponsible and environmentally unfriendly” because it advocates people taking a hammer to the hard drive of their PCs in order to destroy the information it holds in deleted files.

Richard Parker, Managing Director of Maldon-based EOL, said: “This advice and information, which has unfortunately been repeated on the BBC website, is wrong. As we have proved with over a decade of working with some of the world’s top financial institutions, there are reliable and environmentally-friendly ways of removing data and stopping the fraudsters.”

Which? Computing magazine claims it recovered 22,000 "deleted" files from eight computers purchased on eBay and its editor Sarah Kidner said: "Such information could bring identity thieves a hefty payday. It sounds extreme, but the only way to be 100% safe is to smash your hard drive into smithereens."

As Mr, Parker points out “Many individuals are under the misguided belief that by pressing the “delete” key data is removed. When, in fact, it only transfers it to a part of the hard drive inaccessible to the average user. However, there is software popular with the criminal fraternity which can extract this information.”

He added: “As a company, EOL has been in the forefront of preventing fraud and theft through data insecurity and while I agree that criminals source old PCs from internet auction sites and even rubbish tips, I dispute that taking a hammer to it is the answer to this problem.

“Physical destruction – which can cause injury if not carried out properly – still leaves fragments from which data can be retrieved. It also poses an environmental risk when disposing of the remains.

“Environmentally it has to be far better to re-use hard drives and this can be safely done if the data has been comprehensively overwritten. This saves hazardous waste going in to landfill and the unnecessary energy required to manufacture new hard drives.

“People also make the mistake of using free or cheap software to attempt to wipe data but this is normally substandard and some data is likely to be left on the hard drive.”

EOL’s tried-and-tested methods of data erasure are:

Overwriting using Government-approved, data-wiping software. This also avoids dismantling the PC which could cause static damage.
Degaussing which creates a magnetic field that saturates the data – providing it is carried out to an appropriate level.

EOL declared war on data and identity theft in 2008 with a free online guide aimed at reducing data theft in both corporate and private life.
It is downloadable free from the Essex company’s website – www.eolitservices.co.uk .