{"id":106104,"date":"2017-04-07T14:41:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T18:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/?page_id=106104"},"modified":"2017-04-10T10:35:37","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T14:35:37","slug":"1-2-d-4-physically-destroying-reusable-storage-devices","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/about\/policies\/1-2-d-4-physically-destroying-reusable-storage-devices\/","title":{"rendered":"1.2.D.4 – Physically Destroying Reusable Storage Devices"},"content":{"rendered":"

This document supplements the requirements of BU Data Protection Guideline 1.2.D – Data Protection Requirements<\/a> 1.2.D – Data Protection Requirements<\/span>.\u00a0 It provides information related to the proper disposal of sensitive information in such a way as to prevent its continued use.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h2>\n

When data is no longer required it must be disposed of in a way that prevents its continued use.\u00a0\u00a0 Electronic data can be difficult to dispose of effectively.\u00a0 Reusable storage devices are intended to have a long service life and may be erased and rewritten continuously during their life.\u00a0 Hard disk drives, USB storage devices, solid-state memory cards, portable disk drives, floppy diskettes, and data storage tapes are all examples of media intended for reuse.<\/p>\n

There are legal, regulatory, contractual, and policy requirements that may extend the duration for which information must be retained beyond its useful life.\u00a0 Before disposing of data please review the University Record Retention Policy (FA-002)<\/a>.\u00a0 DO NOT destroy paper or electronic records that the University Record Retention Policy (FA-002)<\/a> requires be maintained.\u00a0 In addition, DO NOT destroy records if you have received a \u201clitigation hold\u201d notice from the Office of the General Counsel concerning actual or threatened litigation or if you have reason to believe that documents relate to a dispute that may result in litigation.\u00a0 If you have any questions, please contact BU Information Security or the Office of the General Counsel before you destroy either paper or electronic records.<\/p>\n

When Physical Destruction of a Device is Required<\/h2>\n

In some cases, even securely erasing a disk does not provide adequate protection against unintended disclosure or loss of data.\u00a0 In these cases the device must be physically destroyed.<\/p>\n

A reusable device must be physically destroyed when:<\/p>\n