In order to best serve the needs of customers’ data security, it’s important to stay on top of industry trends in handling data. One area that’s proven to be particularly dynamic is data destruction, and the next few years will see some major changes in the way organizations approach this essential task. Data storage technology keeps getting better and cheaper, which means that organizations are storing more data than ever before – and they’re storing it longer too.

The problem with this trend is that it also makes data theft easier, as criminals have more time to steal your information while they develop increasingly sophisticated tools to do so. That’s why organizations need to keep track of the three most important data destruction trends in 2022 in order to ensure the safety of their sensitive information. These three trends, in particular, have the potential to alter the future of data handling and the need for partners like SPW data destruction;

1. Data Destruction Becomes More Integral to Information Security

Data destruction has taken a central role in information security in the light of tighter data privacy laws and the enhanced attacks against targets known to hold personal data. Today, laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) place a higher duty of care on organizations and businesses holding private data. As such, partnering with a data destruction company has become a priority;

Data Destruction in Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft is perhaps the biggest cyberthreat to personal data today. Hackers are after any information they can get their hands on, and that includes financial data, personal records, and social security numbers.

As such, businesses must have very effective data destruction policies that ensure personal data is not left vulnerable wherever it resides. These policies help instill confidence in your customers and also protect your brand reputation.

Data Destruction for Legal Compliance

In the last few years, different countries and jurisdictions have rushed to put in place data privacy laws. These laws have become a necessary part of doing business in many places. As such, companies must be able to ensure that they are compliant with these regulations.

Some key points related to compliance will involve understanding how long data needs to be retained, what format it needs to be stored in, where it can be transferred out from (both inside and outside the company), who has access to this information, etc.

The more proactive a company is about these issues now; the less time will need to be spent on them later down the line. This makes data destruction a top priority for any business or organization handling personal data.

2. The Cloud and IoT Changes Everything

Cloud platforms are increasingly playing a larger role in the way companies store and process data. These changes mean that cloud storage is no longer optional but is now an essential requirement. Businesses will need to look at their data retention strategies and how they can best be accomplished with new technologies such as managed cloud services. Companies that don’t take into account what this means for their cybersecurity risk will find themselves unprepared and vulnerable when new technology arrives on the scene.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices have also become vulnerable platforms for hackers. For example, there was the Mirai botnet attack where IoT devices were used to launch a DDoS attack on major networks. As these two trends continue, it will only be more difficult for businesses to protect themselves from cyber threats while remaining compliant with security regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Data destruction for these two platforms is receiving more attention because they leave vulnerable data that is partially out of the control of the owner organization. For example, a clinic holding medical data in cloud storage is mandated by privacy laws to destroy it but has no direct custody of the data. It takes more resourceful  partners like SPW data destruction to handle such complexities.

3. Outsourcing Data Destruction Is More Mainstream

For the average business, proper data destruction can be a challenge because of a lack of resources, including data destruction apps and know-how. Outsourcing is a more workable model for this crucial task.

There are several benefits that come from this arrangement, including cost savings as well as reduced risk of damaging customer information due to error or failure. You also don’t have to worry about compliance with government regulations like HIPAA.

A specialist data destruction company also undertakes a verifiable process. If your industry demands an auditable process, you can produce data destruction certificates to verify your data handling processes meet the expected information security standards.

Conclusion 

Data destruction is an important part of data security, and it’s only going to become more important in the coming years. Secure data destruction ensures your business and client data is safe from unauthorized access. Any business that wants to keep the trust of its customers must develop a strong data destruction policy and implement it with the help of partners like SPW data destruction. It protects not only your data, but also your reputation and money.