data erasure news / issue 3
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
Smartphones and Tablets
Flash MediaStorage Devices
Files, Foldersand Virtual Machines
PCs and Laptops
Server andStorage environments
Virtual Drives
MANAGEMENT CONSOLE
Blancco Management Console – the perfect DEM solution
Why Data Erasure Management (DEM) matters to your organizationIn today’s high tech world, data erasure is
not just an “end-of-lifecycle” theme but a
steady challenge that requires managing
IT assets—and data—at every interval in
their lifecycles. As a business, you must
secure sensitive data and equipment
during various lifecycle transitions to
meet legal and regulatory requirements,
as well as avoid data breaches. However,
to balance cost-effectiveness, efficiency
and the security requirements associated
with big data, your organization needs a
centralized and professional solution for
Data Erasure Management (DEM).
“Only through a companywide or global
DEM policy that is implemented as part
of an overall IT security strategy can a
business minimize data loss risks, which
are steadily mounting with the dramatic
volume of big data and increases in the
number and types of media devices,” said
Thomas Wirth, General Manager of Blancco
Central Europe. “Implementing a secure DEM
policy in your organization is imperative for
avoiding the embarrassment and expense
of a data breach. Blancco can help you with
this process by providing the right mix of
products to create the right DEM solution for
your company."
The Blancco Management Console is a
unique solution that allows complete online
management of the data erasure process
to help create a secure and efficient
DEM process. It efficiently centralizes the
management of Blancco products used at
your company so they function to meet your
organization’s individual DEM and erasure
needs. With Blancco Management Console at
the core, our complete suite of solutions can
be integrated seamlessly within an existing
IT infrastructure.
Blancco Management Console is JAVA based
and utilizes only one installation package,
which can be deployed in just a few minutes.
The software features a rapid update process,
an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI)
and an application programming interface
(API) that is available for integration. From
this centralized console, you can manage
comprehensive erasure reports and statistics,
as well as erasure licenses. This console can
be also used for remotely controlling and
monitoring erasures.
Blancco Management Console 3 is the latest
version of our DEM tool. It is compatible
with the cutting-edge Blancco 5 solution,
which features freeze lock removal for
erasure of Solid State Drives (SSDs).
Blancco Management Console 3 has many
advantages, including a 55% improvement
in speed and efficiency compared with
previous versions of the console. It is also
available in all major languages, including
English, French, German, Japanese, Russian
and Spanish.
Blancco offers software solutions for erasing
all of your organization’s IT assets, including
PCs and laptops, servers and storage
environments, LUNs, Virtual Drives, Virtual
Machines, smartphones and tablets, flash
media devices and even individual files and
folders. Our hardware solutions comprise
Blancco Toolkit, Blancco Erasure Cube,
Blancco Degausser, and Blancco Erasure
Module.
For example, your company could first
implement a DEM policy using Blancco
Management Console 3 combined with
Blancco 5 to erase PCs, laptops, servers and
SSDs, depending on your specific initial
needs. As time goes by, you might choose
to use Blancco File to erase selected files
and folders and then add Blancco Mobile to
erase smartphones and tablets. Finally, the
Blancco Degausser can be used to destroy
defective hard disks or other magnetic
media. In this way, sensitive company
data is erased throughout the lifecycle of
all IT assets, as well as the lifecycle of data
when, for example, it becomes obsolete,
as it might when credit card information
has been stored the required amount of
time and must be removed from an active
system.
For IT asset disposal organization (ITAD)
specialists, DEM with Blancco Management
Console 3 makes for an overall faster and
more efficient erasure process. This is
accomplished via the software’s centralized
real-time management of erasure status
and detailed reports for each erasure, as
well as compatibility with our range of other
tools that accomplish high speed erasure of
HDDs or erasure of complex and increasingly
popular SSDs. In summary, the process is
30% more efficient with Blancco DEM.
Both corporations and ITADs can utilize
Blancco Management Console for managing
and collecting tamper-proof and verifiable
erasure reports, monitoring and controlling
erasures through the network, and harvesting
of software licenses.
“Blancco customers are requesting an
overall erasure solution that can be centrally
managed and is guaranteed to erase all
types of media to meet their specific needs,”
Wirth asserts. “Whatever your organization’s
erasure needs, we have the appropriate
solution for you.” ¿
IN THIS ISSUE: CEO News ® Blancco 5 —your key to the latest erasure technology ® Q&A on Data Erasure Management (DEM) with Thomas Wirth ® Trade Show Calendar ® Data Erasure Blog 97% of our Customers Would Recommend Blancco ® Why Erase Data?
Blancco Management Console 3 has many advantages, including a 55% improvement in speed and efficiency compared with previous versions of the console.
ISSUE 3, MARCH 2014 | This magazine is published by Blancco Oy Ltd. Copyrights 2014 Blancco Oy. All rights reserved.
With today’s explosion of data and its
continued projected growth, safeguarding
confidential data is more crucial than ever.
At Blancco, we have provided our customers
with data erasure solutions that customize
erasure processes for the 17 years we’ve
existed. Since our inception, we have
continued to evolve our company and our
brand to become more user friendly and
efficient, as well as to offer more and more
innovative product solutions.
CEO NEWSCEO and Co-Founder Kim Väisänen
Blancco provides Data Erasure Management
(DEM) that is appropriate for your
organization’s needs. With Blancco
Management Console 3 at the core,
supplemented by our full product line for
each of your organization’s specific needs,
you can choose only those erasure products
that you really need. As your business grows
or your erasure requirements expand, we can
recommend the addition of other solutions,
such as those for erasure of servers or mobile
devices. We’re here to help you build the
most effective Data Erasure Management
plan possible for your organization.
For our current customers, we want to offer
the opportunity to upgrade and maximize
the potential of our product suite so you
can further streamline your Data Erasure
Management process. With Blancco
Management Console 3, you have the latest
and greatest DEM solution we provide.
Among other upgrades, it has a new, easy-
Blancco 5 — your key to the latest erasure technology
Are you a Security Officer of a corporation
needing the most sophisticated data
erasure tool on the market? Our Blancco
5 software is at the forefront of the
industry in being perfect for corporations
or IT asset disposal organizations (ITADs)
requiring the latest technology for
erasing IT equipment, including Solid
State Drives (SSDs).
General features
Blancco 5 securely erases data from laptops,
desktops, servers and storage environments.
Blancco 5 can be preconfigured to fulfill your
specific needs and can be fully automated
for minimum user effort. All selected drives
will be erased simultaneously for fast results.
Its new Graphical User Interface (GUI) has
been designed to give you more flexibility
and ease of use such as: multi-tasking that
supports report editing during an erasure;
the ability to move forward and backward
between erasure steps; a new screensaver
for remote monitoring of the erasure
process; and higher screen resolution.
For server erasure, Blancco 5 for Servers offers
RAID dismantling capability for detecting,
accessing and erasing underlying physical
drives that is the easiest, fastest and most
secure RAID erasure on the market. Blancco 5
for Servers can erase up to 256 drives – ideal
for those needing high-volume erasure such
as data centers or ITADs.
Blancco 5 software can be utilized for remote
erasure in conjunction with the Blancco
Management Console 3 product, giving you
the ability to remotely control all of your
erasures.
Our software also has advanced reporting
features. For proof of erasure, a digitally-
signed and sealed report is created after
each erasure. It contains all the information
about the erasure process and extensive
hardware details for seamless audit
procedures.
Blancco 5 software offers support for newer
hardware, such as UEFI Machines, MacBooks,
Microsoft Surface Pro Tablets and RAID
controllers connecting SAS and SATA drives.
It also supports wireless communication and
can be deployed on WLAN networks.
Blancco 5 is exactly what your organization
needs to erase HDDs, SSDs, logical drives
and external drives from laptops, desktops
and servers for the most up-to-date data
erasure management process.
Freeze lock removal
Blancco 5 provides the latest data erasure
advantage because of its unique ability to
remove freeze locks. Freeze locks are locking
mechanisms that computers place on drives
to prevent external software from accessing
all areas of the drives or using firmware
commands. Such locks can cause failure
of the erasure or leave some areas of the
drive untouched, and therefore, represent
a security risk. Blancco 5 software has a 97%
success rate with the removal of freeze locks,
based on internal testing. Freeze lock removal
is also indispensable for securely erasing SSDs.
SSD Erasure
We recently introduced a revolutionary new
SSD erasure method. Blancco 5 software
to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI) and
more options than ever before for report
handling.
Utilizing Blancco Management Console 3
will give you the ability to utilize our cutting-
edge Blancco 5 erasure solution for PCs or
servers, which is also applicable for solid state
drive (SSD) erasure. Our SSD erasure method,
utilizing Blancco 5 software, has been quite
successful with freeze lock removal, showing
a 97% success rate based on internal testing.
We have the best SSD solution on the market
presently, developed through years of hard
work and sweat.
Our products will help to automate your
erasure process, saving your organization
time and money. Blancco Management
Console offers a remote control option that
works well for organizations with multiple
offices and many sites. This feature allows
an administrator to monitor erasures from
a central console via remote administration.
We also boast the broadest hardware
support in the industry.
Blancco is happy to work with you to develop
a process for your individual organization’s
erasure needs. Our staff of highly trained
specialists is available to serve you and your
organization with Data Erasure Management
processes and product solutions that you
can trust. ¿
utilizes this patent-pending method to
sanitize SSDs and offers top-of-the-line
security.
Blancco software detects and automatically
removes freeze locks to provide access to
the key security features of an SSD. The
removal of freeze locks allows the thorough
sanitization of SSDs to meet regulatory
compliance and also eliminates the need
for inefficient manual intervention in the
erasure process.
Blancco’s erasure solution was tested
and verified by Stellar Data Recovery, an
independent third party with access to its
CON
TROLLER
DATA #1
DATA #1
DATA #3
DATA #3
DATA #4
TRADITIONAL ERASUREMETHOD
RECOMMENDED SSD ERASUREMETHOD
Erased Area Erased Area
CON
TROLLER
“A month of deep level invasive
tests on each individual NAND
resulted in no trace of customer
data being recovered from any of
the wiped drives.” stated Kees
Jan Meerman, Managing Director
of Stellar Data Recovery.
Our staff of highly trained specialists is available to serve you and your organization with Data Erasure Management processes and product solutions that you can trust.
DATA ERASURE NEWS2
DATA #1
DATA #1
DATA #1
DATA #1
DATA #1
DATA #2 DATA #2
DATA #2
DATA #3
DATA #3
DATA #3
DATA #4
DATA #4
DATA #4
DATA #1
DATA #3
DATA #4
DATA
#2
HARD DISK DRIVE(HDD)
SOLID STATE DRIVE(SSD)
Data Block Old Hidden Data OS Visible Area
Twelve years ago, Blancco Central Europe (CE) began operations
with Thomas Wirth at the helm as General Manager. Blancco CE now
has two locations in Ludwigsburg and Berlin, Germany, to serve
customers throughout Central Europe. Blancco CE is part of Blancco
Group, the global leader in data erasure with 17 offices worldwide.
Q&A on Data Erasure Management (DEM) with Thomas Wirth
Blancco 5 — your key to the latest erasure technology
BLANCCO’S SSD METHODOur exclusive (patent pending) approach provides a reliable and secure way to sanitize and
safely repurpose SSDs for reuse. The Blancco process is designed to specifically handle the
differences across a myriad of vendors, through the application of a consistent model for
erasure and a focus on data security.
This approach consists of the following:
1. A multi-phase, proprietary SSD erasure approach that utilizes all
of the available security protocols supported by SSDs.
2. Applied techniques to automate the removal of freeze locks,
enabling access to key internal security features of an SSD.
3. Blancco’s SSD erasure software will reject those drives that give
false positives about internal erasure processes.
4. Third party benchmark testing and validation.
Therefore, more and more customers are
requesting an overall erasure solution
that meets their specific needs. They are
asking for a solution that guarantees secure
auditable erasure for all types of storage
media, as well one that supports simple and
efficient process management.
Why is Data Erasure Management
(DEM) important?
Due to new technologies and varied
requirements, the only professional way
for organizations to avoid data leaks—a
pressing concern for many—is a complete
Data Erasure Management (DEM) solution
with centralized reporting.
We provide an individual plan or concept
that is appropriate for each customer-
specific situation and integrates efficiently
into existing internal processes. Depending
on a company’s structure, an internal
administrator, a service provider or an end-
of-life specialist such as an IT asset disposal
organization (ITAD) can perform erasure
processes.
How do you help customers with
their individual DEM needs?
With our worldwide market experience of
the past 17 years, Blancco has designed
well-engineered solutions for existing IT
environments. Blancco’s sales staff and
Technical Project Managers are trained to
analyze the corporate and ITAD situation,
develop an individual DEM strategy
together with the customer, and guide
them through the implementation process.
Blancco’s professional services cover DEM
consulting, onsite installation and training
of customer staff.
How will the Blancco Management
Console help with DEM?
When we think about a companywide,
automated erasure system, Blancco
Management Console can handle
centralized management of reports so that
each single erasure process can be tracked.
On one hand, all erasure reports can be
stored automatically; on the other hand, all
necessary data can be exported via API to an
existing asset management, ERP or database
system to enable a total audit trail.
By utilizing the complete DEM process
together with our new Blancco software,
customers such as ITADs and corporations
can increase their data erasure productivity
by up to 30 percent.
What does the future hold
for data erasure?
Blancco’s R&D department works
continuously to develop erasure solutions
for new storage media technologies. For
example, Blancco was the first company
to release an approved erasure solution
for smartphones and tablets and a secure
erasure method for SSDs with automated
freeze lock removal.
Due to new data security challenges and
trends in the IT business, an increasing
number of professionals are considering
end-of-life selective data erasure in addition
to end-of-life data erasure. National and
international regulations are being revised
and data classification and shelf life of data
will become a more pressing topic. This
means when storing data, we have to think
about how and when it must be erased. ¿
What are the needs and requirements
of today’s typical Blancco customer?
During the last 10 years, the need for
data erasure has changed greatly as the
awareness and importance of erasure has
increased. There are three main factors that
drive customer demand:
1. The amount of data is exploding—from 1
zettabyte in 2010 (ZB) to 40ZB in 2020.
2. Today, company data is stored on many
different systems: PC, laptop, tablet
smartphone, storage, and the cloud.
3. New upcoming EU data protection
legislation, industry standards and
internal security policies require auditable
data erasure.
AMOUNT OF GLOBAL DIGITAL DATA
40ZB2015
7.91ZB2012
2.72ZB
20101.23ZB
2020
Smartphones,tablets
Storage
Cloud
PCs, laptops
COMPANY DATA IS STORED ON MANY DIFFERENT SYSTEMS:
AN AUDITABLE ERASURE METHOD FOR ORGANIZATIONS IS REQUIRED BY: Internal
company policiesUpcoming
EU legislationIndustry
standards
own recovery tools and state-of-the-art
recovery technologies.
“We tested Blancco’s SSD erasure method
by attempting to retrieve wiped customer
data from a range of SSDs,” said Kees Jan
Meerman, Managing Director of Stellar Data
Recovery. “A month of deep level invasive
tests on each individual NAND resulted in no
trace of customer data being recovered from
any of the wiped drives.”
Additional testing was conducted and
successfully completed utilizing the Asset
Disposal and Information Security Alliance’s
(ADISA) test methodology for SSD erasure.
DATA ERASURE NEWS 3
WHY ERASE DATA?IT assets pose a significant risk to organizations because of the large volumes of
confidential information stored on them. Data must be completely destroyed before IT
assets are disposed of, recycled, reused or donated.
Blancco is approved by:
NATO TÜV-Süd NSM
Report
Blancco also generates detailed reports
providing critical evidence of every
erasure.
Erase
Blancco not only permanently erases all
data, including hidden and remapped
sectors…
BLANCCO’S UNIQUE ERA PROCESS
Audit
These reports ensure the existence of
a comprehensive audit trail – a critical
requirement for compliance and
regulatory and legal auditing needs.
Copyright © 2014 Blancco Oy Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Blancco Oy Ltd on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because of changing market conditions, Blancco cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. Blancco makes no warranties, express or implied, in this document. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Blancco.
Join the ranks of our many satisfied customers:
97% OF OUR CUSTOMERS WOULD RECOMMEND BLANCCO
97%
Last October Blancco conducted an online
survey from all of our global offices.
The results were that 97% of Blancco
customers would recommend us out of
998 total respondents. Here is what some
of our customers are saying:
Blancco has been fantastic in supporting
and meeting our data erasure needs. Our
Account Manager was extremely helpful and
I would recommend the product highly."
Blancco Management Console has been
easy to implement and use in our enterprise.
Blancco’s engineers were very helpful in
helping us with our implementation and
configuration."
Great software and really like the
reporting after a complete wipe of data.
Would recommend it to others and we see
ourselves purchasing more licenses in the
future."
Easy to use software and very
professional company to deal with. I would
highly recommend the product.”
Blancco’s offices span the globe with locations in 15 different countries. Visit with us at events all around the world.
TRADE SHOW CALENDAR 2014 March - September
1 CEBIT 2014
10 – 14 March, Hannover, Germany
Hannover Exhibition Grounds
2 INFOSECURITY BELGIUM
26 – 27 March, Brussels,
Belgium, Brussels Expo Heizel
3 INFOSEC WORLD
07 – 09 April, Orlando, FL, USA,
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
4 INFOSECURITY EUROPE
29 April – 01 May, London, UK,
Earls Court One
5 ICT EXPO HELSINKI
07 – 08 May, Helsinki, Finland,
Helsinki Exhibition Grounds
6 JAPAN IT WEEK
14 – 16 May, Tokyo, Japan,
Tokyo Big Sight
7 COMMUNICASIA 2014
17 – 20 June, Marina Bay Sands,
Singapore, Marina Bay Sands
8 INFOSECURITY RUSSIA
24 – 26 September, Moscow,
Russia, Crocus Expo
DATA ERASURE BLOG
Subscribe to our Data Erasure Blog today!
We introduced our new data erasure blog this
January on our Blancco website. Written by
our Product Management, Technical Support
and Research Specialists, our blog brings
you the latest information on data erasure
technology, current solutions and industry
regulations.
View our latest blog posts at
www.blancco.com/blog on:
Freeze Lock Removal – Meeting the
Requirements of Modern Erasure
Standards” by Jonathan Brew
“Data Recovery and Erasure in
Android Devices” by Lucas Weber
“Data Erasure in Virtualized
Environments” by Lucas Weber
“How to Ensure that Data Erasure
Really Happens” by Sami Tuupanen
View our latest blog posts at www.blancco.com/blog
Contributing Writer & Editor:
Katherine Johnson
Layout, Design & Illustration:
Noora Toropainen
Visit www.blancco.com for the most current Blancco events.