{"id":2288,"date":"2013-04-03T16:47:13","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T20:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myassettag.com\/blog\/?p=2288"},"modified":"2013-04-03T16:47:13","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T20:47:13","slug":"asset-disposal-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myassettag.com/blog\/asset-disposal-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Asset disposal security: an IT no-brainer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which has more value: an armored truck or a van carting away a bunch of old computers? This is not a trick question. It\u2019s one that Kyle Marks, founder and CEO of Retire-IT<\/a>, asks his clients. And the answer is easy, says the Columbus, Ohio-based entrepreneur, but it eludes most businesses. \u201cThe armored truck might, on average, carry a few hundred thousand dollars, and it has armed guards,\u201d he says, but \u201ca recycler\u2019s van full of obsolete IT equipment carries millions of dollars of liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most overlooked aspect of IT security,\u201d he contends. \u201cCompanies spend millions of dollars to protect their IT assets while they\u2019re in use.\u201d When these assets are retired, they contain all the same information , but, he contends, companies take the security aspects of disposal pretty much on faith.<\/p>\n

\"Electronic<\/a>

Companies spend millions on IT security, but forget that when they toss old computers without a plan, they’re sustaining huge liability.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not that he\u2019s advocating hiring Brinks to cart away used servers. What he does recommend is a simple procedure that involves labeling every asset that is to be retired with a unique tag \u00a0marked for disposal, and then implementing a comprehensive \u201creconciliation methodology\u201d to ensure that the data is destroyed and the\u00a0 hardware goes where the company wants it to.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the ounce of prevention that can make all the difference, says Marks, who earned his MBA from Harvard. All it takes is one hard drive that goes missing. If that drive contains sensitive client records, suddenly a worn-out piece of hardware can become a costly liability that he contends \u201ccould put a company out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that while data<\/a> security<\/a> breaches<\/a> have become commonplace, most of the resulting class action suits to date have not been successful. Plaintiffs\u2019 claims that they have been subjected to increased risk because of asset disposal breaches have been viewed dimly by the courts; in most cases actual damages are required in order to qualify for class action status. But the judiciary\u2019s take on such cases has been evolving bit by bit, and class action strategies have become more sophisticated, which leaves companies vulnerable. An ounce of prevention, says Marks, is well worth it.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle<\/a>

Kyle Marks, CEO of Retire-IT, says an ounce of prevention is well worthwhile.<\/p><\/div>\n

In his view, companies don\u2019t need to target the recycling contractors. Most pilferage of obsolete hardware takes place, he maintains, before the recyclers ever set foot in the door. It\u2019s the \u201ctrusted insiders\u201d on the IT staff who are usually responsible, he says. \u201cThey view it as a victimless crime,\u201d and help themselves to a piece of equipment that they know is destined for the dump. The problem is that if the data on these machines has not been wiped clean, who knows where it might eventually end up.<\/p>\n

The solution, says Marks, lies in identifying the assets\u00a0 every step of the way. And that\u2019s where he says disposal tags come in. This is a departure from common practice. The traditional tracking tool has been the serial number on the piece of hardware, but Marks says serial numbers are subject to human error in transcription. Get one character wrong, and the asset becomes unidentifiable. With a bar-coded disposal tag, the scanner does the recording, and human error is no longer part of the equation, he says.<\/p>\n

\"disposal<\/a>

A simple asset tag can help prevent data piracy and lawsuits when IT paraphernalia is in retirement. Via myassettag.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

But why not use the asset tags<\/a> that many companies assign to each piece of hardware when it is\u00a0 put into service? \u201cWe tell clients that they can use them, but we\u2019ve never found a client that has a consistent, homogeneous system\u201d for asset tagging, Marks says. Plus, older tags are often worn out and unreadable, and sometimes they\u2019re so old that they predate bar coding; asset disposal tags bypass all of these pitfalls.<\/p>\n

Marks uses simple one-by-three-inch white self-adhesive polypropylene tags with what he describes as \u201cthe most easily read bar code format.\u201d\u00a0 His clients do their own tagging; this ensures that the correct assets are marked for disposal, and it also acts as a deterrent to the assets disappearing before the recyclers arrive. The tags are used to build a master inventory list that also uses serial numbers as a backup. \u201cIt\u2019s two-key tracking\u2014a complete reconciliation methodology,\u201d\u00a0 Marks explains.<\/p>\n

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