World-class Security

In the course of my employment, I am regularly exposed to classified information.  Before I was allowed to look at anything remotely classified, I was informed, in no uncertain terms, of the importance of properly disposing of documents, both in hard-copy and on computer media.

Even before I joined the military, when I was working on a government contract, we were required to sign a document stating that we understood the consequences of releasing, or improperly disposing of, classified information.

Although the exact level of classification of the documents isn’t listed, but Northrop Grumman and the Pentagon somehow managed to get sensitive information to a West African street market.  Of course, there’s the standard finger-pointing and deflection of blame.

The owner of the data is responsible for its destruction.

You don’t trust a third-party, asset-destruction company to remove and destroy the hard disks if they contain “sensitive information”.  Destroy them in-house.  Put them out on the test range, or in a shredder – if a city can maintain one, the Pentagon definitely can.  Don’t try to save a few bucks by reselling a hard drive containing secret documents.