Data security has gained increasing importance over the last few years. Data Protection legislation has made it imperative to ensure sensitive information does not become public. There have been horror stories of disks going missing containing huge amounts of personal details, including bank account information.
When disposing of obsolete data storage devices and other types of electronic media to a third party organisation, such as a recycling facility, it is very important to consider the safety of any data and in the case of hard drives physical destruction before doing so is usually the safest solution.
Data security is also vital for both business and personal mobile phone users. Personal data, client information and emails all need to be removed from old mobiles before disposal. This applies just as much when sending mobiles to a recycling company.
Bearing in mind increases in data theft, it is important that commercial organisations have a policy covering the disposal of mobile phones, particularly smartphones and PDAs because as technology advances more and more data is being stored on them. Phones are upgraded regularly and users need to be aware that data is stored not only on the SIM card, but on the phone and often on SD cards.
Many mobile phone recycling companies helpfully guide users through the process of how to erase data from their phones before sending them in and this is very important because recent models in good condition are often sent to the developing world for re-use.