Data protection

What happens to your data during equipment disposal?

Data protection must also be ensured when disposing of waste equipment. All of Swico Recycling’s contract partners are therefore contractually bound to protect the data on the collected devices against unauthorised access. The collection points, transporters, recyclers and supervisory bodies must implement specific measures to ensure that this is done. This also includes, for example, the requirement that the collected devices be stored under lock and key.

Ensuring greater data protection on your own

Completely deleting the data before handing over the equipment is one way of increasing data protection. The exact process depends on the type of equipment and the operating system. Easy-to-follow, free instructions explaining how to do this are available online on reputable IT media portals. It is usually handled by a software solution, but physical destruction is also an option.

Data protection service

There are specialised companies that destroy data for customers for a fee. In cooperation with Swiss Post, for example, SafeRec (www.saferec.ch) offers a solution whereby waste equipment can be sent as a package by standard or registered mail. Packages handed over at the post office counter do not leave postal circulation; rather, they are destroyed and shredded on the post office premises in SafeRec AG’s data shredder in accordance with DIN 66399 (security level to ‘secret data’). A certificate of destruction is then issued by email.

High-security requirements

In companies with particularly high security requirements (e.g. in the finance or healthcare sector), regulatory requirements define how data is to be handled. In these cases, lawmakers determine the protection level and the applicable industrial standards. Swico Recycling can act as a liaison to appropriate disposal companies upon request.