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UK IT: ‘what’s WEEE’?

IT departments still unfamiliar with WEEE requirements, warns Kroll Ontrack

March 06, 2008

73 per cent of UK IT professionals are still unaware of the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) requirements – even though the initiative was implemented over a year ago.

A study by data recovery expert Kroll Ontrack questioned IT professionals from a range of industries about their data deletion practices in relation to disposing of equipment in order to comply with the WEEE directive. It showed that despite 95 per cent of respondents currently implement end-of-life hardware practices, most companies are still unaware of the associated need for secure and permanent data deletion.

The WEEE directive was instated to tackle the growing amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment – one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe. It provides businesses with extensive information about their equipment disposal responsibilities.

The research also showed that 50 per cent of the firms questioned use data erasure technologies, with 36 per cent of those companies preferring a hardware solution. Kroll Ontrack urges IT managers to ensure that any products used for this purpose have a Government or Infosec security standard.

Executive quote

“The fact that so many companies still haven’t got to grips with the WEEE directive could spell danger,” said Phil Bridge, Managing Director, Kroll Ontrack. “In addition to failing to comply with regulations, companies could also be putting sensitive data at risk.”

“IT professionals are used to paying attention to data security, but it is also critical that security practices extend to hardware disposal. The danger is that data may be compromised and fall into the wrong hands if hardware is not properly disposed,” he added.

“The data deletion market is saturated with solutions that promise to delete data,” continued Bridge. “However, the effects of many products can easily be reversed by computer experts, leaving data vulnerable to attack or misuse. Using a Government or Infosec accredited product is the only way to ensure delete really means permanently deleted, unrecoverable.”

About the company

Kroll Ontrack provides technology-driven services and software to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers recover, search, analyse, produce and present data efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to its award-winning suite of software, Kroll Ontrack provides data recovery, advanced search, paper and electronic discovery, computer forensics, ESI consulting, and trial consulting and presentation services. Kroll Ontrack is a technology services division of Kroll Inc., the global risk consulting company. For more information about Kroll Ontrack and its offerings please visit: www.krollontrack.com; www.ontrackdatarecovery.co.uk; www.engeniumsearch.com; www.trialgraphix.com

Contact details

Account manager at LEWIS, the PR agency

Tel: +44 (0) 161 601 7740

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627

Email: ontrackuk@lewispr.com
Website: www.lewispr.com

Technorati tags: Kroll Ontrack | WEEE | Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment | data recovery |

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UK IT: ‘what’s WEEE’?

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