Scandal: The Zurich Ministry of Justice allowed an employee to resell discarded computers, printers, servers and other devices after deleting data on them. Now some hard drives with unencrypted documents have appeared in the employee’s brother’s garden!
Responsible data deletion is different. The easiest way is to encrypt the data. Then only those with the password can access it. If you want to completely ban data on a hard drive, you must overwrite it at least once. But here’s more:
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How do companies ensure that their data on older devices is actually deleted?
The legal provisions of Swiss and European data protection laws form the basis for this. How individual companies handle their data is left to companies within this legal framework.
There are companies that specialize in data deletion. Such companies offer various security proofs to guarantee that the data is properly deleted. This ranges from video documentation of the deletion to certificates confirming the complete deletion. With such a certificate, companies are also legally protected.
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Which companies offer professional data deletion service?
There are several providers of such deletion services in Switzerland. When it comes to simply deleting digital data from servers and hard drives, for example, Ontrack from Wallisellen ZH can help.
Anyone who wants the safe and complete destruction of paper data or entire hard drives, CDs or memory sticks should be in good hands with Reisswolf. Both companies are internationally certified and guarantee the legal proper deletion or destruction of sensitive data and data carriers.
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How secure are such deletions?
The safety and reliability of various extinguishing technologies depend on two factors. The right software and the person using it.
There are all kinds of data carriers and the right software to erase data irreversibly. However, the subject is very complex, so you should consult an expert, especially for sensitive data. In this way, 100% security can be provided. However, this is associated with significant costs.
It is also important for private individuals to delete data correctly. For example, if you resell your laptop.
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How to properly delete data on a hard drive?
There are a number of software tools, both paid and free, that can be used to properly wipe data from a laptop. “If you have really important, sensitive data on your device, an expert is recommended to delete it,” says Yves Eng (50), country manager on Ontrack.
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Can deleted data still be retrieved in the background?
Deleted is not deleted. It plays a role in how data is deleted. If you move the data to the recycle bin, they are still on the device and can be easily restored. Even if the trash has been emptied.
If you delete the data with a software or an expert, they should be completely gone. A simpler alternative is to encrypt the data on the device. These are then deleted or are no longer accessible to anyone. Unless he has a password. “Restoring backed up data is possible, if at all, only with great effort and expense,” Eng says.
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Can properly deleted data be recovered? Aspect?
Basically: no. “Once a device or data carrier is reliably wiped, there is no available data that can be recovered,” Eng says.
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How does this work with a cloud?
Cloud providers usually delete data after the contract expires. Because they want to resell the storage space. If the data is very sensitive and you want to be safe, you should explicitly request deletion from the provider and have it confirmed in writing, if necessary, with a deletion protocol. That way you are at least on the legally safe side.
But here too the data is only actually deleted after it has been (repeatedly) overwritten on the server. In other words, with each new customer in the cloud, the likelihood of your own data going to disappear for sure increases.