In this blog, I would like to share some really useful tips that you can use if you have a pile of tapes containing sensitive data that needs to be destroyed.
Tip #1: Check out this movie
This is a video shot at Robein Vermogens Beheer. Here you can see how tapes are destroyed on location in a way I think they should be.
Tip 2: You really can’t destroy tapes yourself
Almost every week I get people on the phone who think that destroying tapes is expensive and a waste of money.
They say: I’ll do it myself.
Years ago there was the head office of a supermarket chain and they had hired a whole team of temporary workers armed with scissors to cut the tapes into pieces.
The result was a days-long and huge mess and a very hefty bill from the temp agency.
Then we came along with our mobile hard drive shredder and two of us did the job in 20 minutes, and for significantly less money.
What I just want to say: there is actually no good way to destroy tapes yourself.
To destroy tapes you have to chop them into small pieces quickly.
And that can really only be done well with (some) shredders.
Tip 3: Don’t format or wipe your old tape
Yes I know, the better system administrator could very well format and/or wipe the old tapers for destruction themselves.
On the very first note, I really dare to question how secure that is.
Besides, this story only works with perfectly working tapes, and the tapes you want to destroy will be a day older I suspect.
And in terms of cost itself then, so also formatting/wiping is really not smart.
The better companies in data destruction will charge you from a 4 euro to destroy a tape and that is really cheaper in practice!
Tip 4: On-site data destruction or not at all
Before ordering a company to destroy your tapes, decide whether or not you want it on site.
This is an important decision, though.
Want to know more about on-site destruction – or not?
I wrote another blog about this and you can find it here: BLOG DESTROY ON LOACTION OR NOT.
Tip 5: Make sure you properly preserve old tapes for destruction
Definitely do not let the old tapes for destruction roam your organization and make good arrangements with each other about it. If you put the tapes to be destroyed in a good lockable cabinet, this can be quite fine. And what is also important: Make sure that if a tape streamer or a tape robot is taken out, that your system administrator makes sure that really all tapes are out. We here at IT Recycling really do encounter surprises in old tape robots on a weekly basis.
Almost all companies offering destruction want to loan you handy storage containers, usually for free.
I find this really particularly practical and safe.
Tip #6: Destroy Tapes: Only with a shredder and nothing else!
I hear from customers disappointing stories about degaussers with arcane magnetic fields.
And the bad feeling one is left with afterwards.
For peace of mind, it’s just better to watch tapes get chopped up in a shredder.
And then we have a device as ingenious as it is impractical called MaxxEguard.
This website promises great stories.
And I have seen the device at work myself several times at the Info Security Fair.
I was not impressed at all.
With hard disks the thing really works as slow as it is unreliable and with tape it does not work at all.
Customers I talk to about it say the same thing.
If you want to destroy tapes, you have to chop them into small pieces quickly.
Tip 7: Destroy in very SMALL pieces please.
Data destruction shredders usually have blades of 25mm or more.
So they cut into pieces of 25mm or more.
If you throw tapes in there you get strings of really meters and with today’s data density that can still be whole pieces of information.
I would recommend that for tape shredding you only use shredders that go smaller than a 10-12mm.
We shred at 9mm.
Tip #8: For God’s sake, have that crap taken away!
Shredded tapes are dirty garbage.
It’s not recyclable.
Some fellow data shredders have a habit of just leaving the shredded tapes behind.
We’ve been to customers several times and just taken the shredded tapes from colleagues there because otherwise that customer is up with it.
I find it too sad for words that a company comes by to destroy tapes and then just leaves the mess behind and puts the problem on the customer.
But it does happen on a regular basis!
I would recommend making proper arrangements for this in advance.
Tip 9: Have your tapes destroyed only by a WEEELABEX certified company.
You’ll read this tip in just about every blog I write.
Companies that destroy data are required to meet the WEEALABEX standard.
And for this they must obtain a certificate.
Companies that have this certificate meet very high requirements in terms of environment, safe data destruction and customer friendliness.
If a company does not have WEEELABEX do not go with them.
Who has weelabex is public and can be found on the weeelabex website www.weeelabex.org.
Tip 10: Pick up the phone and call me if you want advice on tape destruction.
Advice is always free, call me at 0413-249756 or email steef@it-recycling.nl