TechR2 RFID Tags Will Enable Full Verification of Any Disk Drive Destruction

THE CONCERN

The tracking of removable or portable media, which contains sensitive, confidential, personal and identifiable data, has become critical due to the amount of information contained in any such media. Loss and theft, through careless handling, ranks high as the primary means by which sensitive data is inadvertently disclosed to sources of ill will. In the case of portable media, any kind of information release can happen as any IT Asset containing storage hardware is taken off-line and retired without proper erasure. In some cases, attempted conventional means to overwrite data on drives not conducted by credible and certified means can lead to improper overwrite of all sectors on the drive.

Existing reporting laws and regulations such as: GLBA, HIPAA, 581386 and US Safe Harbor, EU Data Protection Directives point out the strong compliance requirements necessary for tracking the location of sensitive information and the ability to maintain control of it. In essence, when media that potentially contains sensitive information goes unaccounted for, the costs that are associated with remediation and reporting losses can amount to thousands of dollars. As an example, based on actual case history, a lost laptop drive can easily cost over $95 million dollars in lost labor and out-of-pocket expenses, not to mention the cost of reputation damage and the cost of governmental fines, audits requirements and civil litigation all due to failure to adequately control information.

THE SOLUTION

TechR2 RFID tags can be placed on any metal mobile equipment and disk drives so as to provide a unique identifier and near perfect read as disk drives are destroyed. In the disk drive destruction the TechR2 RFID tag is also destroyed, thereby providing verification of the disk drive destruction.

THE IMPLEMENTATION

End-of life IT assets with an internal disk drive that has been TechR2 RFID tagged, contains an encoded transponder. When the disk drive is destroyed, so is the transponder. The reader records the signal from the transponder until it flat lines due to its destruction therefore making verification possible and as well as a uniquely identifiable way and means for having a record of the disk drive’s destruction for the company.

THE INVESTMENT

• TechR2 RFID tags for disk drives
• RFID Reader
• Server and Software

EXPECTED RESULTS AND BENEFITS

The support to management’s intent for appropriate control of sensitive information is demonstrable by the TechR2 RFID program and the verification of disk destruction. Return on investment is in the cost savings realized in the event of any investigation or query into management business practices initiated by any entity and /or governmental scrutiny.