• Home
• Topics
• Security Audit, Compliance and Standards
• HIPAA
• How to destroy data on a hard drive to comply with HIPAA regulations

How to destroy data on a hard drive to comply with HIPAA regulations

Requires Free Membership to View

Login



SearchSecurity.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to breaking industry news, virus alerts, new hacker threats, highly focused security newsletters, and more -- all at no cost. Join me on SearchSecurity.com today!

Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial Director

• E-mail Address: 

By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSecurity.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

There are two options for the destruction of electronic data. The company can do it internally or hire someone to do it. If you are going the in-house route, necessary items will include an industrial-strength degausser or a high-end shredder. In addition, it will be necessary to document the processes and procedures of how the data was destroyed and when it was done.

Alternately, there are third-party providers that destroy hard drives as a service. In this situation, the providers become a "business associate" (which under HITECH, the recent update to HIPAA, means they need to be HIPAA compliant as well). This means the provider must sign a contract that states it will follow appropriate procedures to protect the data until it is destroyed and then follow documented processes and procedures for the destruction of the data. Finally, they must also provide you with documented proof of the destruction of the data . Generally a third-party provider is the route I recommend. It outsources some of the risk and lets the company focus on other issues.

For more information:

• Get more guidance on HIPAA data destruction requirements.
• Learn about encrypting data-at-rest to meet HITECH requirements.

Dig Deeper

This was first published in November 2009

More from Related TechTarget Sites

• Cloud Security
• Security Channel
• SMB Security
• Financial Security
• Security UK
• Security AU
• Security IN

• Cloud Security

  • Leveraging Microsoft Azure security features for PaaS security

    Organizations can boost PaaS security late in the game by implementing these stopgap measures.

  • Quiz: Understanding cloud-specific security technologies

    Think you understand cloud-specific security technologies as well as expert Joseph Granneman does? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

  • CSA launches cloud security certification initiative for service providers

    Plan calls for working with certification bodies, government agencies, as well as an independent CSA certification.

• Security Channel

  • Biometric authentication methods: Comparing smartphone biometrics

    Biometric authentication helps ensure only authorized smartphone users can access a network. David Jacobs weighs the pros and cons of three methods.

  • F5 Vault program embraces incentives for F5 firewall, security sales

    The Vault partner program uses incentives to increase visibility for F5 firewalls and its architecture bundle.

  • Using DMARC to improve DKIM and SPF email antispam effectiveness

    DMARC aids the DKIM and SPF protocols that help keep spam out and let legitimate emails in. David Jacobs explains how.

• searchMidmarketSecurity

  • Windows Phone 7 security: Assessing WP7 security features

    Windows Phone 7 security features are proving to be a mixed bag. Sam Cattle assesses the enterprise security pros and cons of the latest Windows mobile platform.

  • Choosing the best security certifications for your career

    Whether starting your career or planning your next step as an IT security professional, this tip will guide you toward the best certifications for your interests and experience.

  • Midmarket security tutorials

    SearchMidmarketSecurity.com’s tutorials offer IT professionals in-depth lessons and technical advice on the hottest topics in the midmarket IT security industry. Through our tutorials we seek to provide site members with the foundational knowledge needed to deal with the increasingly challenging job of keeping their organizations secure.

• searchFinancialSecurity

  • Microsoft attempts legal action to disrupt some Zeus botnets

    Legal and technical actions could disrupt some Zeus botnet operations by seizing command-and-control servers in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

  • More than hype: Security big data helps bank to boost security program

    At RSA Conference 2012, Zions Bancorporation detailed how it harvested security big data using a Hadoop-based security data warehouse.

  • Web application threats: What you really need to know

    In this special presentation, Mike Rothman details today's top Web application threats and pragmatic methods to integrate security into the Web application development process.

• Security UK

  • ICO fines Welsh health board £70,000 for patient record loss

    For the first time, the ICO fines an NHS organisation for sending patient data to the wrong person.

  • With mobile payments, security teams must move quickly

    As employees make payments on their mobile devices, the security team must act quickly to ensure corporate assets remain secure.

  • SOCA takes its website offline in DDoS response

    Just days after SOCA shut down carder sites, the agency was the victim of a DDoS attack, leading SOCA to takes its website offline.

• searchSecurityAU

  • With mobile payments, security teams must move quickly

    As employees make payments on their mobile devices, the security team must act quickly to ensure corporate assets remain secure.

  • PCI virtualization compliance still a challenge

    No black and white when it comes to PCI compliance in virtualized environments, experts say.

  • Examining Kindle Fire security, Silk browser security in the enterprise

    Do Kindle Fire security issues, combined with weak Silk browser security, make the red-hot consumer device too risky for enterprises? Michael Cobb explains.

• Information Security

  • Information security budgets: Five steps to obtain management buy-in

    Getting management to approve security budgets is difficult. Here are guidelines to help you prepare and present information security budgets effectively.

  • Maltego tutorial - Part 1: Information gathering

    Maltego is a powerful OSINT information gathering tool. Our Maltego tutorial teaches you how to use Maltego for personal reconnaissance of a target.

  • POS terminal security: Best practices for point of sale environments

    Securing point of sale (POS) environments can be tricky. Shobitha Hariharan and Nitin Bhatnagar share comprehensive POS terminal security best practices.

• About us
• Contact us
• Site index
• Privacy policy
• Advertisers
• Business partners
• Events
• Media kit
• TechTarget corporate site
• Reprints
• Site map