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Retiring old IT equipment is no longer as simple as tossing out an outdated server or laptop. Today, organisations must navigate strict data compliance mandates while striving to hit aggressive corporate sustainability goals, making improper disposal a high-stakes liability.

As Sophie Gray, Managing Director of ICT Reverse, explains, “We find that a lot of businesses still think that if you simply delete things from your PC or laptop, or if you do a factory reset, that you’ve erased everything on there. But that’s not actually the case.”

Forensic interrogations, using relatively accessible software, can recover that information. As a result, businesses need to be sure they’re disposing of what they have in the safest possible way.

Secure disposal 

ICT Reverse provides secure IT disposal, recycling and data erasure services for businesses of all sizes. With ADISA 8.0, ISO 27001, NCSC CAS-S and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications, the company demonstrates high standards of information security, data protection and secure IT asset disposal (ITAD).

“We use very specialised software with our technicians to securely erase everything that’s on there so that it can’t be recovered,” notes Sophie. 

ICT Reverse provides certified data erasure, including individual erasure certificates, asset-level reporting, and a clear audit trail for compliance purposes.

“Then following that we always aim to reuse… our mantra is that we like to recycle, but we will always go for reuse first,” she adds. That’s the case even if the item is damaged. 

“If we had an item that was slightly damaged and needed a new screen or potentially a new keyboard, we would carry that work out so that item can carry on being reused. Ultimately, if we can’t do any of those things, we will break items down into component parts, and that means that we can use those parts for that refurbishment going forward.”

By refurbishing and reusing parts, ICT Reverse extends equipment lifecycles, contributes to the circular economy and helps businesses meet their sustainability objectives.

If there’s no possibility of reusing the equipment, ICT Reverse can offer businesses on-site shredding. 

“If for some reason the software does fail and we can’t erase the hard drive, we will remove it from a device so that we can shred that down,” Sophie explains. ICT Reverse also does shredding on-site, via one of only three certified, secure on-site shredding vehicles in the UK. This allows businesses to witness the process and gain additional assurance that their data has been securely destroyed.

Data protection 

On data protection processes, Sophie offers the following advice for companies that want to review or further develop theirs. 

“First and foremost, I would say that the main thing that you need to do is check that whoever you are using is accredited, because that’s really important.”  

The second tip is to make sure that if data erasure is being managed in-house, it’s being managed correctly. “Ultimately, if you’ve got a cyber audit and you were asked about your data security, do you feel confident that you’ve got something to tick that box? Obviously, if you are carrying out erasure internally and you’re doing that by simple deletion or factory reset, there isn’t any certification to indemnify that,” she explains. 

“It’s really prevalent when we see data breaches on the news. Obviously, that’s got people’s personal information. It’s never been more important to protect that… particularly with AI being on board. Secure erasure is absolutely more important than anything,” summarises Sophie. 

Proper IT asset disposal is crucial, as simple data deletion, or factory resets leave organisations vulnerable to breaches. ICT Reverse offers certified data erasure, strict compliance audits, equipment refurbishment for reuse, and secure on-site shredding to protect sensitive business information.