Remote Erasure Supports ITAD Efficiency, Innovation & Growth for Industry Trading | Blancco Case Study

In a world where the workplace can be anywhere, data sanitization must reach devices everywhere. Industry Trading, an Australian IT asset disposition (ITAD) business, meets these novel requirements with secure, in-place remote erasure that spans any device, in any location. The flexibility of Blancco solutions enables Industry Trading to nimbly respond to the technical, logistical, and regulatory challenges its customers face.

Highlights

Using Blancco data erasure solutions, Industry Trading has achieved:

• Innovative ITAD practices to support at-home workers with self-service secure data erasure
• Support for processing 30,000 assets per month and deploying 100,000 units annually, with plans for continued growth
• Adherence to R2 (Responsible Recycling) requirements, incorporating data sanitization into the IT asset lifecycle
• Regulatory and audit compliance with tamper-proof erasure certificates
• Integration of robust Blancco capabilities into Industry Trading’s bespoke, client-facing asset management solution

Challenge

Security concerns associated with the global shift toward home-based workforces have forced ITADs to provide end-of-life device sanitization services across highly distributed environments. Transporting end-user devices to a central disposition point with intact sensitive data onboard creates significant security exposure for ITAD customers, making remote data erasure a critical capability. As an alternative to physical destruction of devices, remote erasure also enables devices to be reused or resold.

“How will IT teams complete high-quality refresh tasks for remote users while they work from home, ensuring compliance with company policies and data security requirements?”

– Matthew Hill, CIO, Industry Trading

Australian ITAD provider Industry Trading prides itself in providing its clients market-leading buy-back value for redundant IT equipment. Already a long-time Blancco customer capable of processing some 30,000 assets per month, the firm needed to incorporate secure remote erasure into its client-facing asset management solution at scale. As a competitive imperative, that capability needed to combine airtight security with convenience, flexibility, and the ability to match Industry Trading’s growth and their customers’ need to support remote staff.

Solution

Industry Trading has developed a solution called “Refresh from Home” to provide safe, secure mechanisms for end-of-life decommissioning of devices that have been deployed to at-home employees. The company’s asset management system handles the full process of planning, executing, and managing device refresh, from scheduling according to warranty and refresh dates to secure data erasure and return logistics.

Industry Trading CIO Matthew Hill elaborates, “With equipment travelling via numerous logistics routes using multiple couriers and postal services, it was imperative that devices were de-classified prior to leaving the control of the end user. Blancco Drive Eraser and our asset management system provided the control and oversight of this process to adequately mitigate against the risk of data loss during the final logistics leg.”

Industry Trading confidently uses Blancco Drive Eraser to sanitize end-of-life data from loose hard disk drives and solid-state drives, as well as those in PCs, laptops, and servers. In June of 2020, the Australasian Certification Authority (ACA) awarded Blancco Drive Eraser Common Criteria (CC) certification via its Australasian Information Security Evaluation Program (AISEP)—a certification recognized by countries around the world.

Among other features, the solution provides self-service remote data erasure, which can be performed easily and conveniently by non-technical business users, at any scale. The process is based on Blancco Drive Eraser running on the target machine, deployed as a software image packaged in an MSI installer file, which can be delivered to the end-user device by any convenient method, such as download, inclusion in a standardized IT desktop image, or using network policy.

Blancco Management Console, running at Industry Trading’s secure facility, controls the secure erasure process, enabling it to be as manual or automatic as needed. Blancco Management Console also manages Blancco Drive Eraser licenses, helping simplify administration for Industry Trading operations teams, and acts as the central hub for reporting on all secure erasure activities. Customizable, roles-based permissions allow secure, appropriate access to certificates of erasure, which in turn provide audit-ready chain of custody documentation for client assets—a security feature that is particularly important in regulated industries such as banking and finance, healthcare, and government.

Results

Industry Trading was already using Blancco Drive Eraser, as well as Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure and Blancco Network Device Eraser, for onsite IT media sanitization at its facilities, along with Blancco LUN Eraser. These tools provided Industry Trading with secure data erasure according to globally recognized erasure standards. They also reinforced customers’ confident participation in Industry Trading’s equipment buy-back programs.

With secure remote erasure using Blancco Drive Eraser, Industry Trading can now also securely decommission end-user IT equipment for customers that have adopted work-from-home policies. While it would be costly and impractical to travel to end-users’ homes, the Blancco solution simplifies the process, streamlining both the end-user effort and IT resources required.

Blancco helps Industry Trading fill the supply pipeline for the sale of redundant equipment through its global sales channels, helping strengthen that line of business. It also enables customers to realize the remaining value of IT assets when they are taken out of service, which would be lost if customers relied on physical destruction of IT equipment at end-of-life. As the ITAD sets its strategic sights on expanding asset volumes through facilities in Australia and Singapore, Blancco products drive greater value to enterprise decision makers, giving Industry Trading a lasting competitive advantage.

About Industry Trading

Industry Trading is a leading distributor of redundant technology equipment and provider of related professional services in the Asia Pacific region. Its group headquarters is located at a 4,500m² premises in Sydney, Australia, and the company services Asia from its 1,500m² facility at Loyang Enterprise Building in Singapore.

Established in Sydney in 2013, Industry Trading engages and integrates its personnel’s knowledge gained at blue chip banking institutions, as well as OEM, ITAD, and professional services firms around Australia and Asia Pacific. The company is staffed by over 100 people globally with an employee retention rate of 98 percent. Its executive team is integrated across Australia and Singapore. You may find Industry Trading online at industrytrading.com.

About Blancco

Reduce Risk. Increase Efficiency. Be Sustainable. Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG) provides organizations with secure, compliant, and automated solutions that accelerate the transition to the circular economy. Each year, tens of millions of Blancco erasures allow top-tier organizations to protect end-of-life data against unauthorized access, safely redeploy data storage assets, and firmly comply with increased data protection and privacy requirements. Our precise device diagnostics help move used IT assets confidently into the circular economy, enabling enterprises, IT asset disposition (ITAD) vendors and recyclers, and mobile industry stakeholders to operate more sustainably.

Globally approved, recommended and certified by governing and industry bodies around the world, Blancco is the industry standard in data erasure and mobile lifecycle solutions. With 35+ patented or patent-pending ideas, we continue to grow the number of innovative solutions global companies can rely on to accelerate operations, secure their data, and grow their businesses. Read more about us at blancco.com.