Blancco Technology Group Earns NCSC Commercial Product Assurance Certification

Mar 11, 2021 Blog Article

Blancco Drive Eraser 6 has been certified by the British National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Commercial Product Assurance scheme (CPA) for data sanitization. This marks the tenth consecutive certification from NCSC (previously CESG) for our data erasure software from the UK government over the last 15 years. What is the CPA, and why does it matter for other organizations? We explain that and more below.

Mason Wallis

Mason Wallis Mason worked for Blancco as junior marketing coordinator from mid-2019 to early 2020. He supported and created internal and external communications about Blancco solutions, also managing company social media channels and assisting with content reporting and analysis.

Blancco Drive Eraser 6 has been certified by the British National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Commercial Product Assurance scheme (CPA) for data sanitization. This marks the tenth consecutive certification from NCSC (previously CESG) for our data erasure software from the UK government over the last 15 years.

What is the CPA?

Used by both public-sector and private industry organizations in the UK, the CPA certification identifies companies that have had their products independently tested to ensure that they perform as the company has described. The product is only certified if it can withstand rigorous internal testing then have those same results replicated by an approved third-party laboratory.

Blancco strives to meet or exceed the standards set by organizations such as the NCSC. We take pride in the fact that our data erasure solutions are certified by governing bodies and leading organizations around the world. Not only does the certification reflect our team’s hard work, it also has far-reaching benefits for healthcare companies, educational institutions and the UK government. These organizations are subject to mandatory requirements to securely sanitize data using certified software in accordance with the criteria laid out by the UK’s Government Security Classification Policy.

Why is it so important to comply with these policies?

For one thing, 80 percent of data produced by the UK government and public sector bodies is classified as “official.” Official data is defined by the United Kingdom Cabinet Office as “routine business operations and services, some of which could have damaging consequences if lost, stolen or published in the media, but are not subject to a heightened threat profile.” The CPA designation allows the UK public sector to identify commercial security products that meet security standards for this level of use.

How Blancco’s NCSC Certification Helps Your Organization Comply with Data Protection Regulations

The NCSC certification of Blancco Drive Eraser 6 also helps businesses and governing bodies within the UK comply with the Data Protection Act and GDPR. Our Drive Eraser software works by securely and permanently overwriting all data to a chosen standard (including HMG Infosec Standard 5, Lower and Higher Standards; NIST 800-88 and DoD 5220.22-M) and then verifying that data has been sanitized successfully. Even obstacles such as BIOS freeze locks and RAID configurations are no match for Blancco Drive Eraser. Organizations also receive a tamper-proof, audit-ready report certifying the erasure.

This Certificate of Erasure shows private companies and government organizations alike that Blancco products are proven to mitigate their risk of data being breached at end-of-life. In doing so, our products also help companies protect and sustain their brand reputation, mitigate the loss of intellectual property, minimize the likelihood of legal consequences and reduce the imposition of financial fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Blancco Drive Eraser 6.13 is the version that was evaluated for this certification; however, the NCSC certification states that the latest available version of the product should be deployed.

Ready to give Blancco Drive Eraser a try? Get started for free.

This article was originally posted on January 29, 2020 and updated on March 11, 2021, with the most recent certification information.

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