Drive disposal

[Scott.Chandler-VQAUrahS1b5BDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org (Chandler, Scott)]

Hi Bill,

Securely wiping "good" drives is acceptable under the right circumstances (method, number of passes) but when it comes to data which falls under HIPAA regulations, a certificate of disposal (destruction) from a reputable company is a nice "get out of jail free" card.

The larger problem is drives which are "dead". They won't spin up or make that tell tale clunking sound. You still need to destroy them properly.

My understanding is that degaussing alone is not acceptable.

Scott

-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-bounces-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org [mailto:discuss-bounces-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Bill Horne
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 1:08 PM
To: BLU Discussion List
Subject: Re: Drive disposal

On 3/22/2010 12:27 PM, jay-R5TnC2l8y5lBDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org wrote:
> I've started looking into some low volume drive disposal, and was curious what options others use.  My main requirments are:
>
> 1. Reasonable for low volume, 25- 50 drives every 6 months I would guess.
>
> 2. Provide cerification that will pass hipaa requirments.  Basically chain of custody, degausing and shreding.  We deal with a lot of pharma companies, and would like to use similar standards.
>
> 3. Resonably local, and allow drop off or local pick up options.
>
> My searching online has turned up SEM out of westboro, that meets all these.  And their site quotes a rate of $5 a drive for lots of 26-100. 
>
> Anyone have any advice on companies and costs?
>
>
>   

If you're talking about drives that are still usable, you might do
better with organizations or individuals (I'm one) who recycle machines
for low-income users. If HIPAA allows for the "secure erasure" of
drives, then you could save at least some of the recycling cost by
donating drives to these places.

Bill


-- 
E. William Horne
William Warren Consulting
Computer & Network Installations, Security, and Service
http://william-warren.com
781-784-7287