• Home
  • Products
    • Secure Drive Wiping SoftwareSecurely Erase Data From HDDs & SSDs in PC, Mac & Server
    • Bulk Drive Erasure Over Network Erase Loose Drives, PC, Laptop & Servers Over A Network
    • Mobile Wiping & Diagnostics Software Erase & Diagnose iOS® & Android® Simultaneously
    • File Eraser SoftwarePermanently wipe files and folders, and erase traces of apps & Internet activity.
  • Solutions
    • For Enterprise, Govt. & SMBWipe hard drives, laptops, desktops, Mac® devices, mobile phones & rackmount storage.
    • Managed Service Provider & SIGlobally trusted data wiping & diagnostic solutions to augment your managed services competences
    • ITAD & Refurbisher Bulk erase loose drives, laptops, desktops, Mac devices, rackmount storage & mobile devices with centralized control.
    • Individual & Home User Safeguard invasion of privacy at the time of disposing old PC, laptop & mobile phone
  • Resources
    • CertificationsBitRaser - Tested & certified by multiple International Bodies
    • Reports & Certficates Tamper proof erasure reports & certificates to help meet audit trails
    • Data Erasure StandardsGlobal erasure standards that help you comply to international laws & regulations
    • Technical Articles Series of articles to help understand data erasure & diagnostics
    • Product FactsheetExplore in-depth details of the features, benefits..
    • Deployment Get instructions on using BitRaser for wiping PC..
    • Case Studies Read Our Customer Case Studies Illustrating The Real-World Usage In Diverse Business Scenarios.
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Our Top FAQs That Will Help You Get Answers To Your Questions.
    • Blog Gain Latest Insights Into Data Erasure, Data Protection, Privacy And Regulations.
  • Partners
  • Products

    CASE STUDIES

    The best way to know about our solution is to read our customer case studies illustrating the real-world usage in diverse business scenarios.

    Read All Case Studies

    • Secure Drive Wiping Software
      Securely Erase Data From HDDs & SSDs in PC, Mac & Server
    • Bulk Drive Erasure Over Network
      Erase Loose Drives, PC, Laptop & Servers Over A Network
    • Mobile Wiping & Diagnostics Software
      Erase & Diagnose iOS® & Android® Simultaneously
    • File Erasure Software
      Permanently Wipe Files & Folders, Erase Traces Of Apps & Internet Activity
  • Solutions

    BITRASER® DATA ERASURE SOFTWARE

    Efficient, Easy & Permanent Wiping Of Sensitive Data Across Storage Devices. Guaranteed Data Privacy.

    Learn More

    • For Enterprise, Govt. & SMB
      Wipe Hard Drives, Laptops, Desktops, Mac® Devices, Mobile Phones & Rackmount Storage.
    • Managed Service Provider & SI
      Globally Trusted Data Wiping & Diagnostic Solutions To Augment Your Managed Service Competences.
    • ITAD & Refurbisher
      Bulk Erase Loose Drives, Laptops, Desktops, Mac Devices, Rackmount Storage & Mobile Devices.
    • Individual & Home User
      Safeguard Invasion Of Privacy At The Time Of Disposing Old PC, Laptop & Mobile Phone.
  • Resources
    • Product Certifications
      BitRaser - Tested & certified by multiple International Bodies
    • Sample Reports & Certificates
      Tamper proof erasure reports & certificates to help meet audit trails
    • Data Erasure Standards
      Global erasure standards that help you comply to international laws & regulations
    • Technical Articles
      Series of articles to help understand data erasure & diagnostics
    • Product Factsheets
      Explore in-depth details of the features, benefits and specifications of our variants.
    • Deployment
      Get Instructions On using BitRaser for wiping PC, Mac, hard drives, mobile devices & files.
    • Case Studies
      Read our customer case studies illustrating the real-world usage in diverse business scenarios.
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
      Our Top FAQs That Will Help You Get Answers To Your Questions.
    • Blog
      Gain latest insights into data erasure, data protection, privacy and regulations.
  • Partners
  • +1-844-775-0101
  • Submit Enquiry

Secure Data Erasure For Data Center Decommissioning

  • author image

    Written By Abhishek Jain linkdin

  • calender

    Updated on Mar 23, 2022

  • clock

    Min Reading 3 Min

This article explores the process of data center decommissioning and cites the importance of software-based data erasure during this process. It enlists the various ways in which overwriting data can help an organization to ensure data security and prevent data breach during data center decommissioning.

A data center is a facility where organizational computing systems, servers, and associated components, such as network and storage devices are located. Data center decommissioning is the practice of dismantling computing systems and hardware for disposal, recycling, relocation or reuse as the data is transferred to the upgraded servers. Decommissioning a data center is as difficult as installing one and given the sensitive nature of organizational data, the decommissioning process requires thorough planning and careful execution.

While retiring IT Assets in a data center, follow a quick checklist of items as listed below:

Data Center Decommissioning Checklist:

  • Prepare Scope of Work
    • Document a list of devices to be dismantled: computers, servers, hard drives, cables and other data center equipment.
    • Identify and asset tag devices that need to be recycled, or re-used.
  • Take Backups and ensure Software Licenses for servers are in place
    • Ensure all necessary data and power backup systems are in place.
    • Locate and Keep all software licenses for servers handy.
  • Planning for Decommissioning
    • Create an Implementation plan defining roles of the person responsible for the decommissioning process and activities to be performed at different time intervals.
    • List down vendors that you may need to support the process of dismantling.
    • Cancel all maintenance contracts for servers, if any.
    • Arrange necessary tool for decommissioning including forklifts, tip guards, hoists, data erasure tools, degaussers etc.
  • Dismantling and Data Sanitization
    • Dismantle the servers. Choose the right destruction method – erase, degauss or shred depending upon the reuse requirement.
    • For data sanitization, connect the storage media to permanently wipe redundant data with professional data erasure tools.

Role of Data Erasure in Data Center Decommissioning

Retiring of Data Center is not just about dismantling and removing the IT hardware. It is also about maintaining data security at all levels. Absence of Data protection during removal process of redundant hardware may lead to hackers gain access to data at rest and misuse sensitive information causing data breaches. It is thus imperative to completely sanitize and destruct data during the decommissioning process. Morgan Stanley data breach is a classic example of how ignoring due diligence in data center decommissioning can lead to data breach and subsequent penalties worth millions of dollars.  Also, outdated systems and equipment do not come with the latest features and security updates. Thus, IT assets at the end-of-life possessing sensitive data can be breached if proper care is not taken to dispose them. This may ultimately lead to data breach lawsuits and loss of the company’s reputation.
Secure data erasure during data center decommissioning can be helpful in more than one ways.

  • Facilitates On-site Data Destruction

    During decommissioning process, data erasure helps in wiping unwanted data from drives and servers at the company’s own facility either through a vendor or by the company itself. The advantage of on-site data destruction is that data and device exchange very few hands and the process can be witnessed by concerned  at company’s facility. When you plan to opt for secure data erasure, ensure your data erasure tool or your service provider complies with prominent standards like NIST 800-88 (National Institute for Standards and Technology) and DoD 5220.22-M (U.S. Department of Defense).

  • Ensures Efficiency & Security

    Ensuring data security throughout the data lifecycle is critical and software-based data erasure ensures secure and permanent wiping of all your sensitive data beyond retrieval even in a laboratory setting.  You can achieve media sanitization across all your data center IT Assets with data erasure, whether it is your redundant hard drives, solid-state drives, servers, virtual machines or logical storage area networks. Software-based data erasure produces a 100% tamper-proof report for every erasure performed to ensure that wiping was successfully done.

  • Helps in Meeting Compliance

    Organizations are obligated by law like EU-GDPR, CCPA, SOX, HIPAA etc. to include data destruction as a part of their IT Asset management policy. Modern data protection laws demand secure data destruction that leaves no traces behind. Use of a certified and professional data erasure tool like BitRaser is recommended as it helps in ensuring compliance with these global data protection legislation by destroying information securely and generating auditable reports.  In case third-party vendor is involved in decommissioning, organizations should demand use of certified and reliable data sanitization tool.

  • Offers Documented Evidence of Wiping (Audit Trails)

    Software-based erasure produces certificate of destruction for every instance of wiping. It acts as an audit trail for the complete data erasure process. The Certificate helps an organization prove that it has securely destroyed the data. It also promotes trust towards the third-party vendor performing media sanitization during data center decommissioning on behalf of your organization. When data is securely wiped, it eliminates all possibilities of data getting compromised or breached.

  • Encourages Responsible Recycling
    Data erasure or overwriting is an eco-friendly approach towards media sanitization as it ensures that the storage device is available to be reused, repurposed or recycled. A professional wiping tool thus is a sustainable approach towards decommissioning IT assets in a data center as it reduces e-waste. Unlike physical destruction for device disposal, data sanitization is an eco-friendly approach of erasing every trace of information from the device and allows further reuse and recycling of the device.

Data Erasure: Integral Part of Data Center Commissioning Services

Data erasure forms an integral part of data center decommissioning services as it deals with the most important element of a data center i.e. its sensitive data. The absence of right data destruction policy and any ignorance in ensuring due diligence in the disposal of sensitive information may lead to data leakage and breach. This can not only cost huge penalties and loss of reputation to the organization but also hampers business-critical work and loss of customer trust. It is thus pivotal for every organization to ensure that it either deploys a professional and certified data erasure tool or hires a third-party vendor that uses these certified software and generates certificate for every wiping executed.

FAQs

What is Data Center Decommissioning?
Data center decommissioning is the practice of dismantling computing systems and hardware for disposal, recycling, relocation or reuse as the data is transferred to the upgraded servers.
How to decommission a Data Center?
  • Prepare Scope of Work
    - List the devices to be dismantled, recycled or re-used.
  • Take Backups and ensure Software Licenses for servers are in place
  • Plan for Decommissioning
    - Create an implementation plan
    - Arrange tools needed for decommissioning
  • Dismantling and Data Sanitization
    - Dismantle the servers and wipe device using the right destruction method and tool.
What are the tools necessary for Data Center Decommissioning?
Common tools that may be required during decommissioning process may include forklift, tip guards, hoists, data erasure tools, degaussers, pallets, packing foam, hand tools, labels, boxes, crates, moving vehicles, etc.
What is the role of data erasure in Data Center Decommissioning?
Secure data erasure in data center decommissioning can be helpful in more than one ways. It helps in meeting compliance with prevailing laws and in attaining secure data destruction from device that are put to rest, by providing a destruction certificate. Secure data erasure also encourages responsible recycling and reuse of the device.

BitRaser is NIST Certified

See All Certifications

Related Articles

Use Of The DoD 5220.22-M Standard For Drive Erasure

Dec 10, 2020

Data Destruction Techniques

Jan 18, 2021

POPI Compliance, South Africa’s Data Protection Act

Nov 9, 2019


REACH US

Stellar Data Recovery Inc.

48 Bridge Street Metuchen, New Jersey 08840, United States

Call Us

+1-844-775-0101

Email Us

sales@bitraser.com

Follow Us

linkedin youtube

Useful Links

  • About Us
  • Legal Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Sitemap

NEWS AND EVENTS

  • News & Press Release
  • Events

PARTNERS

  • Our Partnership Models
  • Reseller
  • Distributor
  • OEM
  • ITAD

RESOURCES

  • Knowledge Series
  • Technical Articles
  • Knowledge Base
  • Blogs
  • Reports & Certificates
  • Download Brochure
  • Deployment
  • Product FactSheets
  • Case Studies
  • Our Clients

BitRaser® & Stellar Data Recovery are Registered Trademarks of Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. © Copyright 2022 Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. All Trademarks Acknowledged.

ISO Certified
NAID VENDOR
ERN VENDOR

We use cookies on this website. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device Read More Got it!

Request Free License

Name*
Email*
Phone
Company
Country*
Number of Devices to Erase*
Details (If Any)
(*) Mandatory Fields

SUBMIT ENQUIRY

SUBMIT ENQUIRY

Usage:    Business   Personal
  • Captcha*
  • 2+4
  • =

  Yes, I would like to receive information regarding BitRaser products and I can unsubscribe any time.

  • Captcha*
  • 2+4
  • =

  Yes, I would like to receive information regarding BitRaser products and I can unsubscribe any time.

Modal body..
24 Internationally Recognized Erasure Standards
NIST Clear
NIST-ATA Purge
US Department of Defense, DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes)
US Department of Defense, DoD 5200.22-M (ECE) (7 passes)
US Department of Defense, DoD 5200.28-STD (7 passes)
Russian Standard – GOST-R-50739-95 (2 passes)
B.Schneier’s algorithm (7 passes)
German Standard VSITR (7 passes)
Peter Gutmann (35 passes)
US Army AR 380-19 (3 passes)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO Standard (7 passes)
US Air Force AFSSI 5020 (3 passes)
Pfitzner algorithm (33 passes)
Canadian RCMP TSSIT OPS-II (4 passes)
British HMG IS5 (3 passes)
Zeroes
Pseudo-random
Pseudo-random & Zeroes (2 passes)
Random Random Zero (6 passes)
British HMG IS5 Baseline standard 
NAVSO P-5239-26 (3 passes) 
NCSG-TG-025 (3 passes)  
5 Customized Algorithms & more

Listening...