Decommissioned IT: How to Prevent Obsolete Assets from Becoming Evidence Against the Company

Understanding the risk of decommissioned IT assets

Decommissioned information technology (IT) assets, when not properly managed, can become critical risk elements, generating evidence that compromises organizational integrity. Confidential information stored on obsolete devices can be recovered by external agents, exposing strategic, contractual, or personal data.

Applicable legislation and legal obligations

According to the General Data Protection Law (Law No. 13,853/2019), it is mandatory to adopt effective measures for the protection and secure destruction of data stored on IT assets that will no longer be used. Non-compliance may result in administrative and judicial sanctions.

Procedures for risk mitigation

The process of secure sanitization of electronic media must be an integral part of decommissioning, ensuring that residual information cannot be recovered. This procedure includes approved techniques such as demagnetization, multiple data overwriting, and controlled physical destruction. A reliable reference for this process is the guidance from NIST Special Publication 800-88, which establishes standards for media sanitization and disposal.

For procedures involving secure disposal of hard drives and electronic media, it is recommended to use registered specialized services, as detailed at the following address: hard drive sanitization - scheduling.

Implementation of internal policies and IT controls

Internal policies must be formalized for controlling the lifecycle of technological assets, including security classifications, strict inventory, and definitive disposition. Documenting each stage of the process assists in audits and demonstrates compliance with regulatory requirements.

Responsibility and technical training

It is essential that IT and governance teams receive ongoing training on best practices in asset management and information security, focusing on ensuring complete data neutralization before any disposal or reuse.

Proper environmental disposal of equipment

Besides information security, environmentally proper disposal of electronic equipment must be ensured, mitigating environmental liabilities and complying with the obligations of the National Solid Waste Policy (Law No. 12,305/2010). For electronic waste management, it is recommended to hire specialized services through the following link: electronic waste collection - scheduling.