Two paths — and mixing them up is a technical error
Every piece of equipment with data media that leaves the organisation demands a decision: sanitise (remove the data logically and preserve the equipment) or physically destroy (render the media permanently unusable). They are services with different methods, deliverables and uses — and treating them as the same thing produces an imprecise offering and fragile evidence.
Secure data sanitisation — when the equipment needs to survive
Lease returns, internal reuse and donation: the data is eliminated, the machine remains usable. Documented method and a per-media report. When sanitisation is not technically applicable (damaged media, encryption without the key), you are informed and the case proceeds to physical destruction.
See the secure data sanitisation service →
Physical destruction of data and media — when policy does not allow reuse
HDDs, SSDs, tapes and media rendered permanently unusable, with chain of custody through to destruction, a per-media record and documented destination of the resulting waste.
See the physical destruction of data and media service →
Which one should you choose?
- Will the machine be returned, donated or reused? → Sanitisation.
- Does policy prohibit reuse, or does an audit require the media to be rendered unusable? → Physical destruction.
- Is the media damaged, or encrypted without the key? → Physical destruction.
- Mixed estate or technical doubt? → The assessment decides media by media — part may be sanitised, part destroyed, all with records.
On both paths, the same standard of proof
Inventory, chain of custody, a per-media treatment record and, when the operation includes equipment disposal, the applicable MTR and CDF. See how the evidence is built in documentation and traceability — and Ecobraz's public records in public evidence.
Start with the technical assessment
Describe the media, the volume and the requirements of your case. The team will come back with the applicable path, the scope and the report template.
Contact us to request a technical assessment — or talk to the team on WhatsApp.
Technical reference
This topic is explored in depth in an original Ecobraz Emigre technical report, published with a persistent identifier (DOI) in the open repository Zenodo:
- VILLANOVA, Marcio. Risco Residual de Dados em Equipamentos Desativados: Governança de Mídias, Sanitização e Prestação de Contas (Residual Data Risk in Decommissioned Equipment: Media Governance, Sanitisation and Accountability). Zenodo, 2026. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21398306.