Data Deletion Methods with KVKK and ISO27001

Data Deletion methods and Secure Data Deletion are used in the same sense, but should not be confused with each other technically. While data deletion allows data to be recovered again, secure data deletion is a permanent operation. That is, it is not possible to recover deleted data. This result is very important especially for corporate companies. Confusing these two expressions can cause important problems at the legal level.

Actually, the problem stems from the idea that operations such as 'formatting' or "delete button" are secure deletion methods – of course this is not true!

The vast majority of corporate company employees believe these methods are appropriate. This can leave your sensitive data vulnerable to potential data breaches.

Global Data Volume Increase

Day by day, organizations are creating, storing and sending more new data than ever before. In 2017, the global data volume was 26 zettabytes (ZB). 1 zettabyte corresponds to 1 billion terabytes. It is estimated that this number will reach 163 ZB by 2025. This volume increase means that the amount of data will increase 6 times in 7 years.

These figures show that corporate parties need to prepare an urgent action plan in their data security content documents. The costs that will arise in case of a data breach were explained in a study where 2019 costs reached $3.92 million, increasing by 12% since 2014. When we look at the details of the violations that cause these breaches, it is very clear that organizations need to take solid data security measures.

What is worrying is the accidental exposure of sensitive data. It is possible that this data falls into the hands of unwanted people because files that are put on the market, resold and even recycled have not been effectively subjected to secure deletion. Not only storing files and media containing data, but also the deletion process is very important as a whole. Data may contain information used for sensitive tasks:

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

All information that directly or indirectly identifies who a person is, such as phone numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, passport numbers.

Intellectual Property (IP)

It covers copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other legal rights or license agreements.

Corporate Confidential Information

May include board meetings, trade secrets, financial analyses, internal corporate communications, operational information.

Research Data

We conducted a study to show how data deletion and secure data deletion are not equivalent to each other. We purchased 159 second-hand media (HDD and SSD) from second-hand hard disk sellers and online sales sites to analyze the remaining data on the media.

We detected deleted data on 42% of the media. 15% of this data contained personally identifiable information. This means that for every 20 media analyzed, at least three contain personal data.

Some of the personal data included:

• Scanned images of family passports and identity cards, CVs and financial records
• University student documents and associated email addresses
• 5 GB of archived internal office email from a large travel company
• 3 GB of data from a cargo/shipping company and documents detailing shipping details, schedules and truck records
• Company information from a music store, including 32,000 photos
• School data, including photos and documents with students' names and grades

An important result that should be emphasized in this study is that all the second-hand sellers from whom the drives were purchased stated that data deletion methods were applied to the media and guaranteed that there was no old data. The results show that this is not the case; although individuals realize the importance of deleting data, they unfortunately have no information that the methods they use are insufficient.

Comparison of deletion via formatting with secure data deletion

Formatting: It is a common misconception that deleting data by formatting the media is secure. Of course it is more reliable than deleting files, but formatting only allows the operating system to mark the space as 'deleted'. This way it can overwrite. You cannot see any data on your screen, but it is still there and it is often possible to recover this data.

Recycle bin: Another common method of deleting data is usually using a recycle bin on a laptop or desktop. Any file you send to the recycle bin – even after emptying the trash – is not deleted, it continues to exist on your hard drive. Files are hidden from view, but most data recovery programs quickly recover these files.

Secure Data Deletion Methods

Software: Data deletion software will permanently remove data from all IT assets, including PCs, hard drives, servers, data center equipment and smartphones. Using effective data deletion software allows your organization to safely reuse, sell or recycle all storage media. With the Prowipe software we developed in this regard, we securely delete data from drives from computers, laptops and Server devices.

• Prepares reports compliant with KVKK and ISO27001 standards.
• Can save deletion reports in various formats such as PDF, XML.
• There is the possibility of personalizing the report layout according to requirements.

For more information about data deletion software, you can reach us from our call center by calling +902169161222.

Degaussers: ProDevice Degaussers meet the strictest security standards for data destruction. These are the first devices in the world to work based on PPMS technology and integrate with a mobile application.

ProDevice Degaussers are manufactured with the best components and are based on patented and innovative technologies. It is a powerful electromagnetic field up to 20,000 gauss that guarantees their high efficiency. Data is destroyed in an unrecoverable way. For more information about Degaussers, you can reach us from our call center by calling +902169161222.

Shredders: Shredders are a safe and effective way to destroy HDDs, SSDs, smartphones and mini tablets. Each shredder divides the selected media into small details. We perform secure destruction at our Proimha facility.