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Data security & compliance

Secure data destruction — provably clean, then paid

Before your retired IT can be resold or recycled, its data has to be destroyed to a standard your auditor accepts. Maxicom sanitises every data-bearing drive to NIST SP 800-88 and IEEE 2883-2022, issues a certificate for each, and physically destroys drives that can't be wiped — then pays you for the hardware.

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  • Data wiped, certificate per drive
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The standards behind every certificate

We work to the standards auditors recognise, and we name them on the certificate. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 is the framework most auditors default to; IEEE 2883-2022 is the current standard for SSD and NVMe, which can't be reliably overwritten the way spinning disks can; DoD 5220.22-M is applied where a contract requires it. For UAE data, the UAE PDPL (Federal Decree-Law 45/2021) applies, with the DIFC and ADGM regimes for firms in those free zones.

The method is chosen by the media, not by habit — HDD overwrite, SSD/NVMe firmware sanitize, cryptographic erase for self-encrypting drives, and physical destruction for anything that can't be sanitised. Every path ends in a certificate, on a documented chain of custody.

Method by media type

The right method for each drive

Hard drives (HDD)

Magnetic hard drives are erased by verified overwrite to NIST 800-88, and where required degaussed — the erasure is checked, not assumed, and recorded on the certificate.

SSD & NVMe

Solid-state and NVMe drives are sanitised using the firmware Sanitize command to IEEE 2883, the method built for flash — a simple overwrite doesn't reliably clear an SSD, so the correct standard is used.

Self-encrypting drives (SED)

Self-encrypting and Opal drives, and arrays like NetApp NSE, are cleared by cryptographic erase — destroying the encryption key makes the data unrecoverable in seconds, faster and more reliable than overwriting.

Drives that can't be wiped

Damaged or unreadable drives that can't be sanitised are physically destroyed — shredded or crushed — through a vetted partner, with the destruction certificate returned to you.

A certificate per asset

Every drive gets a certificate naming the serial, the method and the standard applied, so you hold documentary proof of destruction for audit, PDPL and internal compliance.

Documented chain of custody

From collection to destruction, every asset is tracked on a chain-of-custody record, with witnessed or on-site destruction available for higher-classified media.

The paperwork your auditor needs

Every engagement produces a certificate of destruction per asset, naming the drive, the method and the standard applied. Assets move on a documented chain of custody from your door to our facility, so there's an unbroken record of what happened to each one. Where physical destruction is required, the partner's destruction certificate is issued alongside our records. Your information-security officer can witness the process on request — typical for BFSI and government engagements — and sample certificates are available under NDA before you commit.

Wiping, degaussing or shredding — which do you need?

The ways to destroy data on storage are not interchangeable, and choosing the wrong one is how “erased” drives still leak. Overwriting (software wiping), verified to NIST 800-88, is enough for a healthy hard drive that will be re-used or sold — it clears the data but keeps the drive usable. Degaussing uses a strong magnetic field to scramble a hard drive's platters; it works on magnetic media but destroys the drive, and does nothing useful to an SSD, whose data lives in flash rather than on platters. Physical destruction — shredding or crushing — is for drives that can't be verified any other way, or for top-classified media that policy says must be reduced to particles.

Solid-state drives are the common trap: a normal overwrite can't reliably reach every flash cell because of wear-levelling and over-provisioning, so SSDs and NVMe are sanitised with the drive's firmware Sanitize command to IEEE 2883, or cryptographically erased if they were encrypted. We choose the method from the media and the data classification, verify the result, and record exactly what was done on the certificate — so “destroyed” is provable, not assumed.

Simple from start to finish

How it works

1

Send your list

A spreadsheet, an inventory, or just photos.

2

Get a quote

A written offer in AED, no obligation.

3

We collect, free

Across the UAE & GCC, chain of custody.

4

You get paid

Data wiped, certificate issued, settled in AED.

Common questions

FAQ

How do I destroy the data on an old hard drive?
For a healthy hard drive, a verified overwrite to NIST 800-88 fully clears it and lets it be re-used or sold; if the drive is faulty or your policy requires it, it's physically destroyed — shredded or crushed — instead. Either way you receive a certificate naming the method. Send the drives, or the whole machines, and we handle it.
What's the difference between data wiping and shredding?
Wiping (overwriting) clears the data but leaves the drive intact and re-usable, verified to NIST 800-88. Shredding physically destroys the drive so it can never be read again. Wiping preserves the hardware's value; shredding is used when a drive can't be verified or when policy demands physical destruction.
Is degaussing enough to erase an SSD?
No. Degaussing scrambles the magnetic platters in a hard drive, but an SSD stores data in flash chips, not on magnetic media, so a degausser does nothing to it. SSDs must be sanitised with the firmware Sanitize command (IEEE 2883), cryptographically erased, or physically destroyed.
What standards do your certificates cite?
NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1, IEEE 2883-2022 for SSD/NVMe, and DoD 5220.22-M where a contract specifies it, plus a documented chain of custody. For UAE data, the applicable privacy framework (UAE PDPL, and DIFC/ADGM for firms in those zones) sits over the top.
Why can't SSDs just be overwritten like hard drives?
SSDs use wear-levelling and over-provisioning, so a logical overwrite doesn't reliably reach the original flash cell. IEEE 2883-2022 firmware Sanitize is the correct method, with the verification response captured on the certificate.
What is Cryptographic Erase, and when does it count?
It destroys the media encryption key on a self-encrypting drive, rendering the data unrecoverable. NIST 800-88 endorses it as a valid Purge method for self-encrypting drives; where a drive ran in plaintext we revert to overwrite or physical destruction.
When is physical shredding required?
For drives that can't be sanitised, or for top-classified media. The certificate names the particle size achieved.
Can my security officer witness the destruction?
Yes — witnessing is available on request, and for physical destruction at a partner facility you receive the partner's certificate alongside our chain-of-custody record.
Do you hold R2 or e-Stewards certification?
No — and we're straight about that. We work to the recognised technical standards in-house and orchestrate certified physical destruction and recycling through licensed partners, telling you exactly which steps we do and which a partner does.

Destroy the risk. Recover the value.

Send us your list and we'll quote the hardware with certified data destruction included — an auditor-ready trail, and a payment for it.

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