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Secure disposal is a procedure to get rid of obsolete or unwanted digital and electronic equipment. In close relation, media sanitization is process of erasing data on digital and electronic equipment before it is disposed. Depending on the nature of the equipment and the data housed on it, one or both may be needed.
Digital and electronic equipment may also be know as IT assets, hardware, or media, and in the context of disposal, are interchangeable. Specific examples of equipment that may need to be disposed of may include USB, desktop computer, solid state drive, hard disk drive, and all should be securely disposed of when at the end of its useful life.
Data may need to be securely erased not only when the equipment that it was on is set to be disposed, but also when it is transferring ownership or when it's no longer allowed by contract or regulation.
Paper and files
- Put in a campus Shred-It container.
Electronic Hardware
- For sanitizing data from equipment, see the Media Sanitization Guideline.
- For disposing equipment located in a VUIT data center submit a ticket to the Network Operations Center (NOC).
- For disposing equipment located anywhere else on campus submit a ticket to the FutureVU Sustainability office.
Not sure how to start?
Get in touch if you don’t know where to begin, you can’t find the guidance needed on the website, or if you just want to learn more. The Office of Cybersecurity has subject matter expertise and is here for Vanderbilt community to discuss security questions or concerns.