Cybersecurity Doesn’t End When Information Is No Longer in Use
Protecting Information Throughout Its Entire Lifecycle
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month — a time when organizations take a closer look at how they protect systems, devices, networks and information.
But cybersecurity isn’t only about what happens when information is actively being used.
It isn’t only about strong passwords, multifactor authentication, software updates or protecting a network from unauthorized access.
It also involves what happens after information is no longer needed.
Last month, we looked at insider threats and how sensitive information can be exposed through something as simple as improper disposal. The same principle applies to cybersecurity more broadly: protecting information isn’t only about preventing unauthorized access. It’s also about controlling what happens to information throughout its lifecycle.
From the moment information is created to the moment it is securely destroyed, every stage presents an opportunity to protect it — or leave it vulnerable.
NIST’s guidance on media sanitization recognizes that information can remain on devices and storage media even after it is no longer actively being used, making proper disposition an important part of information security.
What Happens When a Device Leaves Service?
Consider what happens when an organization replaces its technology.
A laptop is upgraded.
A server is decommissioned.
A hard drive is removed.
A phone is replaced.
Backup media reaches the end of its useful life.
The technology may no longer be part of the organization’s daily operations, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the information stored on it has disappeared.
Organizations routinely retire:
- Laptops and desktops
- Servers
- Hard drives and solid-state drives
- Backup media
- Smartphones and tablets
- Network and storage equipment
- Other data-bearing devices
And those devices can contain a tremendous amount of information — from employee and customer records to credentials, financial information, proprietary files and other sensitive data.
Deleting a file isn’t the same thing as securely managing the physical device that stored it.
This distinction is important.
A file can be deleted without the underlying storage media being properly sanitized. NIST’s media-sanitization guidance explains that residual data can remain on storage media and that organizations should make appropriate sanitization and disposal decisions based on the sensitivity of the information.
That’s why the end of a device’s useful life needs to be treated as part of the information-security process — not as an unrelated recycling or disposal task.
IT Asset Disposition Is Part of the Information Lifecycle
When technology reaches the end of its useful life, organizations need a plan for what happens next.
That may include:
Identify the equipment and the information it may contain.
Determine the appropriate sanitization or destruction method based on the sensitivity of the data and the organization’s requirements.
Control the equipment throughout the disposition process.
Document what happened to the asset and the data it contained.
Reuse, recycle or destroy the equipment appropriately once the security requirements have been addressed.
For organizations managing large technology refreshes, decommissioning projects or equipment replacement programs, having a defined IT asset disposition process can help ensure that cybersecurity doesn’t stop when a device is unplugged.
Learn more about IT Asset Disposition and secure IT recycling.
Learn more about hard drive destruction and data-bearing media.
What Happens When Sensitive Information Becomes Paper?
Not all sensitive information lives on a hard drive.
Organizations still create, print, receive and retain physical records every day.
Employee records.
Financial documents.
Healthcare information.
Customer records.
Contracts.
Legal documents.
Proprietary business information.
And eventually, those records reach the end of their required retention period or are no longer needed.
That’s when another cybersecurity question comes into play:
How is the information destroyed?
Throwing sensitive records into a regular trash or recycling bin doesn’t provide the same level of control as secure destruction.
Once discarded, documents can potentially be exposed to people who were never authorized to see them.
This is especially important for organizations handling information that belongs to employees, customers, patients, clients or business partners.
Sensitive information doesn’t become harmless just because an organization is finished using it.
In fact, disposal is one of the final points at which an organization has control over that information.
Secure document destruction helps close that gap by providing a controlled process for destroying physical records rather than simply discarding them.
For businesses that regularly accumulate confidential records, a secure shredding program can become part of the organization’s broader information-security practices.
Learn more about secure document shredding.
Explore business document shredding services.
Cybersecurity Should Follow Information — Not Just Devices
It’s easy to think of cybersecurity as something that happens inside a computer.
But information moves constantly.
It can begin as a conversation, become an email, be entered into a database, printed onto paper, stored in a file cabinet, transferred to a laptop, copied to backup media and eventually become part of a retired device or a box of records waiting for destruction.
The format may change.
The location may change.
The technology may change.
But the information still needs to be protected.
That’s why cybersecurity is better understood as an information-lifecycle issue.
Secure the Information. Secure the End of Its Lifecycle.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good reminder to look beyond the obvious points of vulnerability.
Ask not only:
How are we protecting our information today?
Also ask:
What happens to it tomorrow — when we no longer need it?
Whether information is stored on a laptop, server, hard drive, mobile device, backup medium or in a paper file, its final disposition deserves the same thoughtful approach as every other stage of its lifecycle.
Cybersecurity protects information while it’s in use. Secure destruction helps protect it when it’s time to let it go.
Rover helps organizations protect sensitive information at the end of its lifecycle through secure document shredding, hard drive destruction and IT asset disposition services.
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FAQs About Cybersecurity and Information Disposal
Does cybersecurity include secure data disposal?
Yes. Cybersecurity and information security extend beyond the period when information is actively being used. Secure disposal helps prevent sensitive information from remaining accessible after it is no longer needed.
Why is IT asset disposition important for cybersecurity?
Retired computers, servers, hard drives and other data-bearing devices may contain residual information. A defined IT asset disposition process helps organizations determine how equipment and the information it contains should be sanitized, destroyed, recycled or otherwise handled.
Is deleting a file enough to protect the data?
Not necessarily. Deleting a file does not always mean the underlying storage media has been securely sanitized. The appropriate sanitization or destruction method depends on the type of media and the sensitivity of the information.
Why should businesses securely destroy paper records?
Paper records can contain confidential employee, customer, financial, healthcare, legal or proprietary information. Secure document destruction provides a controlled way to dispose of sensitive records when they are no longer needed.
How does secure destruction fit into the information lifecycle?
Secure destruction represents the final stage of the information lifecycle. After information has been created, accessed, used, stored and retained, it should be disposed of appropriately when it is no longer required.
