When we meet with our clients, we like to assess their processes. The first question we ask is, “How are you protecting yourself against a data breach?” The answer usually has a lot of different approaches, but my team and I continually focus on improving the protection of our clients’ data-bearing devices (i.e., hard drives and solid-state drives) and their proper disposition.
Very few companies remove data-bearing devices before disposition (and that’s okay). Some even shred or erase device data at their facilities. A majority trust their IT asset disposition (ITAD) vendor to destroy data (by erasure or shredding) at their site or the vendor’s facility. Both options are viable, but they come with risks and significant costs.
There are higher costs when performing destruction services at the client’s site, especially if the client owns multiple locations domestically or internationally. The alternative, lower-cost option takes place at the vendor’s facility. This option can create data protection gaps during transit through the use of 3rd-party logistics service.
Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations has developed a cutting edge, cost-effective solution that can mitigate data security risks and strengthen your chain of custody of IT hardware assets. XERO, a cloud-based data erasure solution, provides data destruction anytime, anywhere. With XERO, you can be confident that all data on hard drives and solid-state drives is erased before leaving your facility. Because the XERO software is housed within a flash drive, it can easily be distributed to each of your client locations, anywhere in the world!
How does XERO work? It’s simple.
You just plug the flash drive into the unit, connect to Wi-Fi, log into the XERO platform with a username and password, and begin erasing. You’ll never be in the dark during the asset’s disposition because you can monitor XERO’s progress starting from the drive health check, erasing, and quality inspection, all the way through completion.
XERO lets you select how many erasures you would like to run. We typically suggest the universal standard of one pass (NIST 800-88), but a three-pass option is also available within the platform to meet Department of Defense standards. The software then captures the make, model, and the serial number of the hard drive and its parent device, and instantly compiles the data within an exportable spreadsheet. You have complete visibility into which devices have had data erased, pass/fail status, and can track those that you send to your ITAD vendor for further processing. Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations can equip XERO flash drives with any number of erasure licenses – the software is customizable to meet your needs. And its cloud-based client portal puts you in complete control with real-time access to all erasure activity:
- Want to add users? You can do that.
- Need to review and add licenses? That’s a piece of cake.
- Knowing all active users? Super easy!
- Looking for detailed real-time reports? Consider it done!
If you’re excited about XERO, our demo video can give you a firsthand look at our cloud-based data erasure solution and learn how XERO can help you prevent data security from being the weakest link in your chain of custody.
