According to recent estimates by Statista, 149 zettabytes of data are generated globally in 2024, and this number is estimated to increase to 463 exabytes by 2025. Enterprises endure a cyber attack every 39 seconds, translating to an average of 2,244 daily attacks.
Today, it is more important than ever to have strong data security systems to protect your client and employee data. Regulations and protocols govern how data is collected, stored, and disposed of to ensure that it cannot be recovered or reconstructed using any method.
Secure data erasure ensures that sensitive information is not exposed, and helps prevent data breaches, unauthorized access, legal consequences, financial loss, and other consequences.
In the upcoming sections, we’ll examine data privacy regulations created by governments and unions worldwide, focusing on key regions, and outline the importance of compliant data destruction protocols.
Overview of Global Data Protection Regulations
- European Union (GDPR)
- Germany (BDSG)
- United States (GLBA, HIPAA, FACTA and CCPA)
- New Zealand
- Middle East
- Asia
- Methods of Secure Data Disposal
1: European Union (GDPR)
The General Data Protection Regulations 2018 is designed to safeguard individuals’ privacy and personal data within the EU and prioritize greater control over how their data is collected, processed, stored, and deleted.
GDPR also applies to those outside the EU that handle the personal data of EU residents.
What Does The GDPR State?
The GDPR states that any information that can directly or indirectly identify an individual, such as names, email addresses, IP addresses, or biometric data, must be processed based on lawful grounds, such as consent, contractual necessity, or compliance with legal obligations. Additionally, individuals have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.
Under GDPR, personal data must only be stored for as long as necessary and securely destroyed when it is no longer required.
What disposal methods are compliant With GDPR?
During data disposal, enterprises must follow secure data destruction methods that comply with GDPR to minimize the risk of data breaches and maintain a log of data wiping. The data disposal methods include software wiping, degaussing, physical destruction (shredding, crushing, or incineration), cryptographic erasure, and secure file deletion.
In GDPR-compliant regions, on-site data destruction is highly recommended to ensure immediate control over the process and minimize the risk of data breaches.
What happens if you fail to comply with GDPR?
When enterprises fail to comply with data destruction requirements, they can be fined up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. In case of data leaks, data controllers must report data breaches to national supervisory authorities within 72 hours if they harm user privacy.
2: Germany (BDSG)
Germany enforces strict data protection regulations through the Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz – BDSG), The current iteration of Germany’s Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) was last updated in July 2017 designed to align with GDPR.
Germany follows the GDPR core principles like lawfulness, fairness, and transparency. BDSG adds additional requirements for employee data protection, scoring, and credit assessments, making Germany’s rules even stricter than the GDPR.
What disposal methods are compliant?
The BDSG does not prescribe specific destruction methods but organizations must ensure data is irreversibly destroyed. However, to destroy physical documents DIN 66399 standard shredding methods are Germany’s official standard, degaussing or software-based data erasure (DoD 5220.22-M or NIST 800-88 standards)
What happens if you fail to comply?
The German Data Protection Authorities often publicly name and shame companies that violate data protection laws, with fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual revenue, lawsuits, and even criminal charges in severe cases
3: United States (GLBA, HIPAA, FACTA and CCPA)
The United States has multiple data privacy laws designed to protect personal data and privacy across the country. These laws can be complex for an enterprise operating in multiple jurisdictions. some of the major ones are-
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
These laws apply to businesses operating in their respective sectors (financial, healthcare, credit, and California-specific data) and set data security, transparency, and privacy protection standards.
What Do These Laws State?
GLBA: Enacted in 1999, GLBA requires financial institutions to protect the privacy of consumer financial information, mandate disclosure of privacy policies, and ensure secure disposal of sensitive data.
Penalties can include civil fines of up to $100,000 per violation and criminal penalties for intentional violations, including imprisonment.
HIPAA: Passed in 1996, HIPAA regulates the handling of protected health information (PHI) within the healthcare industry and mandates secure data disposal practices to protect patient privacy.
Violations can result in fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with a maximum annual penalty of $1.5 million.
CCPA: Effective January 1, 2020, CCPA provides California residents with the rights to know what personal data is collected, request its deletion, and ensure that businesses protect personal information through secure practices.
Non-compliance can result in fines of up to $7,500 per violation, and individuals have the right to sue for damages if their privacy rights are violated.
FACTA: Enacted in 2003, FACTA provides consumers with the right to free credit reports and requires businesses to protect personal data, including secure disposal of credit information.
Non-compliance can lead to fines of up to $2,500 per violation and can also result in lawsuits and reputational damage.
What destruction methods are compliant?
Each of these laws requires that sensitive data be securely disposed of when it is no longer needed, to prevent unauthorized access and protect consumers’ personal information.
These laws do not specify exact destruction methods, it do emphasize that industries must use “appropriate” methods that prevent unauthorized access to or use of the data. This
The Secured data disposal methods you can use to be compliant with these must render personal data unreadable and irretrievable. Those are data wiping, shredding, degaussing, incineration, physical destruction(shredding or crushing), and cryptographic erasure.
4: New Zealand
New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 applies to both public and private organizations and regulates the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of data in New Zealand. The act includes 13 privacy principles that you must comply with. In the case of a “notifiable privacy breach,” agencies should report it to the Privacy Commissioner.
What destruction methods are compliant?
The Privacy Act does not explicitly list destruction methods for data disposal and media sanitization, organizations must ensure secure disposal to prevent unauthorized access such as physical destruction or secure wiping software.
Failing to comply with the Privacy Act can result in a fine of NZD 10,000 for certain offenses and criminal prosecution if data is knowingly misused.
5: Middle East
In the Middle East, two prominent data protection laws have been enacted to ensure the protection of personal data:
- United Arab Emirates(UAE PDPL):
- Saudi Arabia (PDPL)
What Law States?
United Arab Emirates(UAE PDPL): Enacted in 2021, this law regulates the collection, processing, and storage of personal data within the UAE. It aims to safeguard the privacy and establishes compliance requirements for organizations that handle personal data, including the rights of individuals to access, correct, and delete their data.
Organizations are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to ensure compliance with the law and oversee data protection practices.
Failing to comply with the UAE PDPL can result in significant fines, which can range from AED 1,000,000 to AED 2,000,000, depending on the violation.
The UAE PDPL also allows for other administrative penalties, such as warnings, orders to rectify violations, and suspension of operations.
Saudi Arabia (PDPL): Enforced in 2021, the Saudi PDPL sets guidelines for businesses and organizations in Saudi Arabia on the collection, processing, and storage of personal data.
The law also empowers individuals to access and request the deletion of their data while holding organizations accountable for ensuring secure data practices.
Certain organizations may be required to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) and similar to GDPR, organizations are required to report any data breach to the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) within 72 hours.
The PDPL allows for fines of up to SAR 5 million, potential bans on processing personal data, legal actions, and other administrative sanctions depending on the severity of the violation.
What destruction methods are compliant?
Neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia’s PDPL do not mandates data disposal methods but require secure data destruction methods to protect individuals’ personal information once it is no longer necessary.
Organizations must employ secure data disposal methods and maintain records, including data wiping, physical destruction (shredding or incineration), and cryptographic erasure to ensure that data is permanently deleted and cannot be irretrievable.
6: Asia
Asian countries have laid out guidelines for businesses to follow to ensure the secure disposal of personal data:
China PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law): Enacted in 2021, China’s PIPL governs the collection, processing, and storage of personal information in China. It emphasizes consent, transparency, and the rights of individuals to access, correct, and delete their data.
It also requires businesses to follow strict guidelines regarding data localization and the transfer of data outside China.
Japan APPI (Act on the Protection of Personal Information): Japan’s APPI, revised in 2020, establishes privacy protections for individuals by setting regulations on how organizations can collect and manage personal data.
The APPI gives individuals rights to access, modify, and request the deletion of their data, ensuring that businesses are accountable for their data practices.
India DPDP (Data Protection and Privacy Law): The DPDP Bill is India’s proposed data protection law, aiming to regulate personal data processing by businesses operating in India.
It includes provisions for data access, correction, and deletion, and mandates secure data disposal practices to protect user privacy. While still under development, the bill aligns with global standards such as the GDPR.
Singapore PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act): Enacted in 2012, it governs the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of personal data in Singapore. It ensures that enterprises handle personal data responsibly while giving individuals greater control over their information.
What destruction methods are compliant?
- China PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law): The PIPL mandates businesses to adopt secure data destruction methods like data wiping, physical destruction (shredding or crushing), and cryptographic erasure to ensure that personal data is irrecoverable.
- Japan APPI (Act on the Protection of Personal Information): The APPI requires secure destruction methods such as data wiping, physical destruction, or cryptographic erasure to prevent unauthorized access to personal information once it is no longer needed.
- India DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection Act): While still under development, the proposed DPDP law emphasizes secure data disposal methods such as data wiping, physical destruction, and other methods that ensure complete data destruction and prevent recovery.
- Singapore PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act): While the PDPA does not explicitly list destruction methods, organizations must ensure proper disposal to prevent unauthorized access or use. Physical destruction methods(shredding, incineration, pulping) to destroy physical data, and for software wiping for electronic data
What happens if you fail to comply?
Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to hefty penalties and reputational damage:
China PIPL: Non-compliance can lead to fines of up to 5% of the company’s annual revenue and other legal consequences, including suspension of business activities.
Japan APPI: Penalties for non-compliance include fines and other legal actions, with organizations potentially facing civil lawsuits from individuals affected by data breaches.
India DPDP: The proposed DPDP Bill includes penalties for non-compliance, including fines and the possibility of suspension of operations for businesses that fail to meet the standards for data protection.
Singapore PDPA: Failing to comply with the PDPA can lead to serious penalties of up to $1 million or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is higher. Additionally, individuals can sue the organization for the damages.
Here are some Data Sanitation methods that can help your organization comply with the protocols and standards.
Methods of Secure Data Disposal
1: Digital Data Destruction
Software data wiping is a secure method of permanently erasing data from storage devices using specialized data erasure software.
Unlike simple file deletion or formatting, software wiping ensures that data is overwritten multiple times, making it unrecoverable by any forensic or data recovery tools.
Data Wiping: The data wiping uses specialized tools to overwrite data multiple times, making it unrecoverable. Examples include DoD 5220.22-M, NIST 800-88, and the Gutmann method.
Degaussing: Exposing hard drives to a strong magnetic field, erasing all data permanently (suitable for HDDs, not SSDs).
Cryptographic Erasure: Encrypts data and deletes the encryption key, rendering the data unreadable.
2: Physical Destruction
Permanently destroying storage media to ensure that no data can be recovered. It is often used when data wiping or degaussing is insufficient, particularly for highly sensitive or classified information.
- Shredding – Uses industrial shredders to cut hard drives, SSDs, and tapes into tiny fragments, making data recovery impossible.
- Crushing – Applies immense pressure to destroy platters, chips, and storage components.
- Incineration – Burns storage devices at extreme temperatures to eliminate data.
- Pulverization – Reduces storage devices to dust or small particles through mechanical force.
- Drilling or Punching – Create holes in hard drives or SSDs to destroy data storage areas.
- Chemical Destruction – Dissolves storage components using acid or other chemicals.
Also, if your enterprise operates in multiple regions, on-site data destruction is an effective way to ensure compliance, as it provides better control over the process and eliminates the risk of a data breach during transport.
Conclusion
Governments are constantly updating data privacy and security regulations to protect personal information in the digital environment. These laws require businesses to follow strict privacy standards to ensure compliance.
Organizations can choose from several data disposal methods, including data wiping, degaussing, and cryptographic erasure, each offering unique benefits. While physical destruction remains one of the most secure ways to dispose of data, businesses concerned about their carbon footprint can opt for recycling as an alternative.
