Blancco Technology Group Awarded US Patent for Solid State Drive (SSD) Erasure Method

New Patent Augments SSD Erasure Patents Previously Granted in EU and Finland, Fulfilling Market Demand for Secure and Verifiable Way to Sanitize and Reuse Solid State Drives

Atlanta, GA & London, UK, March 15, 2016 – At a time when solid state drives (SSD) are increasingly replacing older mechanical drives and dropping in price, corporate maintenance can be complicated and difficult. Today Blancco Technology Group is pleased to announce it has been awarded a patent by the US Patent Office for the unique, secure and verifiable method by which its Blancco 5 product erases data from solid state drives.

Data from Markets and Markets indicates that the global SSD market is poised for rapid growth and expected to be worth $230 billion by 2022. As Pat Clawson, CEO of Blancco Technology Group, explains, “With benefits such as durability, speed, reliability, energy efficiency and better overall performance, it’s no wonder so many organizations favor SSDs over hard disk drives as their preferred data storage device. At the same time, budgetary and resource constraints have driven IT administrators to reuse SSDs whenever possible.”

Designed to specifically handle functionality differences across a myriad of SSD vendors, the patented process consists of the following:

• A multi-phase, proprietary SSD erasure approach that utilizes all available security protocols supported by SSDs
• Automated techniques to remove system BIOS freeze locks, enabling access to key internal security features of an SSD
• Procedures that root out those drives that give false positives about their internal erasure processes
• Third-party benchmark testing and validation, as our Blancco data erasure products have conducted more testing than any other vendor
• A comprehensive tamper-proof report to confirm erasure results and serve as an essential part of compliance and auditing requirements

In addition to expanding the scope of the previously granted SSD erasure patents in the European Union and Finland, this new patent (Patent No. 9286231) provides organizations with a secure method to handle end-of-life storage devices – regardless of underlying technology – in a cost-effective, secure and eco-friendly manner.

Clawson concluded, “Unfortunately, knowledge of the proper SSD erasure methods and tools has not been anywhere near as fast or as ubiquitous as the SSD adoption rate. And when free tools/software are used (as they so often are), it makes matters even worse because such tools cannot adequately do the job and leave large amounts of data accessible. To us, these challenges demonstrated a clear market need for a secure and verifiable way to sanitize and reuse SSDs. Our new patent and our Blancco 5 product not only fulfill this need, but also help organizations minimize their security risks and likelihood of data breaches.”

To help organizations understand the unique traits that make SSD end-of-life erasure absolutely necessary, Blancco Technology Group has also created a white paper that can be downloaded here.

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco Technology Group is a leading, global provider of mobile device diagnostics and secure data erasure solutions. We help our clients’ customers test, diagnose, repair and repurpose IT devices with the most proven and certified software. Our clientele consists of equipment manufacturers, mobile network operators, retailers, financial institutions, healthcare providers and government organizations worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, United States, with a distributed workforce and customer base across the globe.

Blancco, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is the global de facto standard in certified data erasure. We provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail.

SmartChk by Xcaliber Technologies, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is a global innovator in mobile asset diagnostics and business intelligence. We partner with our customers to improve their customers’ experience by providing seamless solutions to test, diagnose and repair mobile assets. SmartChk (or Xcaliber Technologies) provides world-class support, pre and post implementation, allowing our customers to derive measurable business results.

Media Contacts

CCgroup for Blancco Technology Group (UK)
Abbie Godward / Josh Cobb
T: +44 (0) 20 3824 9214
E: blancco@ccgrouppr.com

CCgroup for Blancco Technology Group (US)
Lori Scribner
T: +1 619 798 0043
E: blancco@ccgrouppr.com

Blancco Technology Group
Liz Adams, Global Marketing Director
T: +44 (0) 7725 010 412
E: liz.adams@blancco.com