E-Scrap News Magazine: Task force tackles SSD data destruction

## Task force tackles SSD data destruction


_By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling_

The National Association for Information Destruction has formed a task force to develop a standard for what constitutes "reasonable" destruction of information stored on solid-sate drives.

Unlike conventional hard drives, which use a series of spinning magnetic disks to store information, SSDs contain no moving parts, allowing faster speeds and lower power consumption, and making them standard hardware on many new laptops and mobile devices. However, conventional data-destruction techniques do not work on SSDs, meaning that most drives are physically destroyed at their end-of-life, inhibiting any possible reuse or refurbishment for these expensive and in-demand components.

NAID, which represents companies that specialize in secure information and document destruction, drew the membership of the task force from industry professionals and outside consultants. The newly assembled group will take into consideration the attendant technology, knowledge, expense and likelihood of accessing or reconstructing meaningful data.

"Every data protection regulation in the developed world is based on the principle of reasonableness, a standard which can only be determined by understanding the risks and technology. This task force will attempt to develop a body of knowledge that consumers can use to make informed decisions on their SSD disposition strategy," said NAID Chief Compliance Officer Holly Vandervort.

In addition to setting a reasonableness standard for destruction of SSD data, the task force will also evaluate methods, procedures and quality assurance used in the process. The project will ultimately lead to a NAID-sponsored whitepaper defending the consensus achieved by the task force.

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