In 2021, the number of data breaches hit a new record, rising 68 percent from 2020.
If your business has never been a victim of a data breach, it’s easy to let your guard down. You’ll be making a fatal mistake. The average cost of a data breach is about $4 million.
There are several data protection measures every business must put in place –and a good number are doing so. However, when it comes to electronic data destruction, many organizations don’t know how to go about it.
Should you outsource your digital data disposal? In this article, we’re sharing the pros and cons of this method, enabling you to make a sound decision.
Read on!
The Pros of Outsourcing Electronic Data Destruction
Outsourcing involves contracting a third party to execute a certain business function. In this case, you’ll hire an external digital data disposal firm to destroy your data.
How is this advantageous?
Access to Data Destruction Expertise
If you’re not a data management expert, you might think that a simple “delete permanently” action on your computer is enough to destroy the data. While you might not be able to recover the data on your own, data recovery experts with the right tools can pull it up in minutes.
Outsourcing data destruction enables your organization to leverage the expertise of professionals who know how to completely destroy data. These pros use special software, such as Certus Software, to wipe off the data.
You’ll have great peace of mind, knowing your data isn’t at risk of being breached by anyone.
Save Time
As a business owner, you have a lot of important tasks on your plate. Data destruction shouldn’t be one of them. Though, this doesn’t mean you delegate it to one of your employees.
Destroying vast amounts of electronic data needs you to have the right tools and it can also be time-consuming. Electronic data outsourcing frees up your time, allowing you to focus on other important functions.
Minimize Your Liability
Theft of confidential data exposes your company to legal, reputational, and financial risks.
When you outsource data destruction, the provider will provide a certificate of destruction, which you can use to prove that you took the necessary steps to destroy the data securely in case it’s somehow restored and leaked.
The Downside of Outsourcing Data Destruction
Outsourcing data destruction has big benefits, but also comes with a share of downsides. There are two major cons:
Risk of Data Theft
Outsourcing means another party will have access to confidential company data. While you can trust your provider’s professionalism and integrity, there’s a risk that a rogue employee can try to play games with your data.
Cost
Hiring a data destruction company costs money. For a task that you can do in-house at no or little cost, it might not make financial sense to outsource.
Should You Outsource Electronic Data Disposal?
From time to time, your organization will need to get rid of the digital data it collects. Outsourcing electronic data destruction is one of the options available to you.
While it’s a much better option than DIY, there’s the risk of data theft. You can, however, overcome this risk by choosing a reputable data destruction firm with an excellent security record.
Explore our blog for more data management tips and insights.
