How to Securely Wipe Data from a Mobile Device

Recently, I was reading the HIPAA COW POLICY/PROCEDURE WORKGROUP, DEVICE, MEDIA, AND PAPER RECORD SANITIZATION FOR DISPOSAL OR REUSE whitepaper from their website and found that they want the cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets and similar devices wiped using a software solution.

At TechR2, we agree. We use software that wipes mobile devices that meet DoD 5220.22-M sanitizing standard and is also HIPAA compliant. We create an audit trail, we contain, we wipe and we reconcile to meet standards in our ISO 27001 approved process. Then the device can be safely reused by the organization or processed for disassembly by TechR2. At no time do we just take the whole unit and shred it in one piece – allowing for the cross contamination of e-waste materials.

Thanks to the HIPAACOW organization that recommends good data destruction practices that include environmental friendliness.