Research: More than half of the world’s largest enterprises fail to adequately communicate their data sanitization policies internally

Feb 06, 2020

AUSTIN and LONDON, February 6, 2020—New research launched today by Blancco Technology Group (LON: BLTG), the industry standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics, explores the risks that some of the world’s largest enterprises are taking when creating, executing or communicating their data policies. In particular, Blancco’s study, Data Sanitization: Policy vs. Reality, produced in partnership with Coleman Parkes, reveals why these policies are not sufficiently defined and implemented to ensure the full data sanitization of their IT assets, throughout their entire lifecycle.

Although 96 percent of the 1,850 senior leaders within these organizations have a data sanitization policy in place, 31 percent have yet to communicate it across the business. Twenty percent of respondents also don’t believe their organization’s policies are finished being defined. Overall, over half of organizations (56 percent) do not have a data sanitization policy in place that’s being effectively communicated across the full company on a regular basis. This is increasing the risks of potential data breaches.

Further discrepancies between data sanitisation policy and execution within these organizations include:

“The lack of robust data sanitization policies across global enterprises is alarming,” said Fredrik Forslund, Vice President, Enterprise and Cloud Erasure Solutions at Blancco. “If they fail to formulate and communicate these policies effectively, at every stage of the data lifecycle, they risk putting significant amounts of potentially sensitive data at risk. It is vital they put processes in place, with clear ownership, and auditability for control, assigned to their senior leadership team to mitigate these risks.”

Other key global findings include:

Key U.S. and Canada findings include

Key U.K. findings include:

For full analysis, read the full Data Sanitization: Policy vs. Reality report here: https://www.blancco.com/policy-vs-reality

This report is the second in a three-part series of reports. The first report, “A False Sense of Security,” found that 36 percent of enterprises were taking significant risks with their end-of-life sanitization methods and processes (or lack thereof). It can be found here.

Methodoligy

The primary research was commissioned by Blancco Technology Group and conducted by Coleman Parkes in August 2019. The sample was comprised of 1,850 senior decision makers including Heads of Compliance, CFOs, Financial Directors, ITAMs, CISOs, IT Security VPs, Data Protection Officers and Heads of Operations, from 1,850 organizations with 5,000+ employees. The sample was divided between the U.K., the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, India, Singapore and Australia and covered several vertical markets: Healthcare, Public Sector, Pharmaceutical, Financial Services, Technology, Defense, Legal, Manufacturing, Energy, Transport and Advisory.

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco is the industry standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics software. Blancco data erasure solutions provide thousands of organizations with the tools they need to add an additional layer of security to their endpoint security policies through secure erasure of IT assets. All erasures are verified and certified through a tamper-proof audit trail.

Blancco data erasure solutions have been tested, certified, approved and recommended by 15+ governing bodies and leading organizations around the world. No other data erasure software can boast this level of compliance with the rigorous requirements set by government agencies, legal authorities and independent testing laboratories.

With Blancco Mobile Insurance, Blancco Mobile Buy-back/Trade-in and Blancco Mobile Retail solutions, organizations can achieve real-time valuation for mobile devices with a simple solution that enables consistent, accurate and measurable testing, including market-leading cracked-glass detection.

Additionally, mobile processors can achieve operational excellence while maximizing profits with Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure—a purpose-built solution that features our industry-leading Blancco Mobile Workflows for key processing insights across the entire mobile device lifecycle.

Media Contacts

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

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

Blancco Technology Group
Liz Adams, Global Marketing Director
T: +44 (0) 7762 446179
E: marketing@blancco.com