Your Questions about Hard Drive Shredding Answered

1. Why should I shred my hard drives?

• Poor handling and improper disposal of hard drives will make your business noncompliant with data privacy laws.
• Disposing of hard drives in the garbage allows them to be stolen by a data thief. Any information that remains on the drives can be used to steal your identity or business information, and there’s a lot more information sticking around than you may think.
• Hard drives and other electronic media contain materials that can be harmful to the environment. Use a hard drive shredding company that will keep your information secure and safely recycle your destroyed drives.

2. Isn’t it easier to destroy hard drives on my own with tools?

Surprisingly, no. There are several reasons for this:

• Attempting to destroy your hard drives is a very time-consuming effort, likely a poor use of your employees’ time, and can be dangerous. Wouldn’t you rather have your staff focus on their primary responsibilities that will help your business thrive?
• Drilling, hammering, or trying to crush your hard drives on your own poses safety and health risks that could harm you or your staff. Metal shrapnel poses laceration and eye injury hazards. Add to that the workers’ compensation liability, and the task is suddenly not worth doing in-house.
• Once destroyed, you may not be able to have your drives recycled properly. Have a local, reputable shredding company destroy them and will ensure they are properly recycled afterwards.
• If you DIY your hard drive destruction, you won’t have proof that your drives have been properly destroyed and safely disposed of. A professional shredding company can supply you with a Certificate of Destruction that will prove you have complied with state and federal data privacy and environmental laws.

3. Can I put my hard drives in the shred collection container with paper documents?

If you have locked shred collection containers where you discard paper documents, hard drives or other electronic media or materials cannot be mixed in. Different shredding equipment is used to destroy paper versus electronics.

Keep hard drives separate and secure until you can have an electronics destruction company shred and recycle them.

4. Who says I’m required to shred discarded hard drives?

In addition to respecting your clients’ and employees’ personal welfare, protecting your confidential business and financial information and keeping your reputation intact, you are legally obligated to comply with specific privacy laws that include:

• State laws like the Pennsylvania Breach of Personal Information Notification Act.
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)
• The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
• The Economic Espionage Act (EEA)

Wiggins Shredding provides electronic destruction, including hard drives, SSDs, and other electronic media, to businesses and residents of Pennsylvania and the Tri-State Area of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. With several service options, we make it easy and affordable to destroy the private information you are responsible for protecting. Simply give us a call at 610-692-TEAR(8327) or complete the form on this page to learn more. Our friendly shredding experts are standing by to help!