RCIT-06 Reeves County Equipment Disposal Policy

IT Reeves County Equipment Disposal Policy

Policy Statement:

To prevent unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data and ensure compliance with software licensing agreements and state and federal data security laws, this Equipment Disposal Policy provides guidelines for the secure disposal of IT equipment containing institutional data. This policy applies to all IT Reeves County facilities and employees.

Guidelines:

1. Covered Equipment:

- Covered Equipment includes all IT Resources capable of holding data (e.g., workstations, laptops, servers, mobile devices, printers, external drives, disks, tapes, CDs) at RC facilities.

- Employees must adhere to these guidelines when disposing of Covered Equipment.

2. Data Destruction Required:

- All licensed software programs, Protected Information, and non-public data must be reliably erased or destroyed before Covered Equipment leaves RC’s control.

- Devices should be evaluated to determine if data retention or transfer is necessary, consulting with local IT support for guidance.

- Publicly available electronic information is recommended to be removed before reuse or disposal.

3. Sanitization Methods:

- Acceptable methods include erasing/overwriting, degaussing, and destruction.

- Erasing/Overwriting should include multiple passes with random overwrite patterns (a minimum of 3 passes).

- Degaussing is suitable for magnetic storage media.

- Physical destruction is required for defective or unresponsive media.

4. Disposal Process and Documentation:

- No Covered Equipment may leave RC’s possession before sanitization.

- Documentation attesting to the erasure of licensed software and Protected Information is required for auditing purposes.

- Covered Equipment may be repurposed within or outside RC after completing the sanitization process and required documentation.

5. Policy Administration and Enforcement:

- Administered by the IT Reeves County IT Department.

- Violations may result in disciplinary actions, access restrictions, termination, and potential civil and criminal liability.

- Employment terms align with any terms in collective bargaining agreements between the IT Reeves County and unions.