Should I wipe or shred my drives?

Choose a NIST SP 800-88 aligned wipe or purge when the hardware has resale value, policy allows reuse, and the result can be verified. Choose shredding or physical destruction for failed drives, highest-sensitivity data, or policies that require physical destruction.

What is NIST SP 800-88?

NIST Special Publication 800-88 is a U.S. guideline for media sanitization. It defines Clear, Purge, and Destroy methods and is commonly used by organizations to document data sanitization and destruction controls.

Do you destroy drives on-site?

Yes. Hummingbird International offers on-site hard drive shredding for organizations that require witnessed destruction. Off-site destruction and NIST SP 800-88 aligned wiping are also available.

Can you securely wipe SSDs?

Yes. SSDs and NVMe drives may require cryptographic erase or firmware-level purge rather than legacy overwrite methods. Hummingbird applies the method required by the device and policy, or shreds the media when physical destruction is required.

What documentation do we receive?

Documentation may include a Certificate of Destruction with make, model, serial number, sanitization method, result, date, location, witness or technician, signed chain-of-custody, and pass/fail verification logs for wipes.

Is your data destruction HIPAA and GLBA compliant?

Hummingbird aligns the destruction method and documentation package to the customer’s framework and internal controls, including HIPAA, GLBA, SOX, PCI, and other sensitive-data requirements. BAAs and MSAs may be available when needed.

What media types do you handle?

Hummingbird handles HDDs, SSDs, NVMe drives, LTO tapes, mobile devices, USB drives, SD cards, loose drives, and drives inside servers, laptops, and desktops. Customers should ask about media types not listed.

How fast can you schedule, and where?

Same-week windows may be available in many metro areas, with fast on-site coverage across the New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut tri-state region. Off-site and nationwide programs are also available.

Secure data destruction · NIST SP 800-88 · certified · insured

Secure data destruction. Wipe or shred with proof.

Get certified data destruction for your business, plus free e-waste pick-up. We wipe to NIST SP 800-88 or shred on-site, and issue a Certificate of Destruction with a serial log for any device. Audit-ready proof your security and compliance teams need.

Wipe or shred? Free quote →

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Laptop

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Hard Drives/SSD

Networking

POS

Phones/Tablets

Printers

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Wipe or shred? Choose the right method

We help you choose since both are valid under NIST SP 800-88. It depends on data sensitivity, if the hardware can be reused, and your audit policy.

NIST SP 800-88 Wipe (Purge)

Sanitize & keep the value

Data rendered unrecoverable; drive stays usable
Verified with pass/fail logs per drive
Enables reuse & buyback to offset cost
Best for recent, resaleable laptops/desktops/servers

SSD/NVMe: cryptographic-erase or firmware purge (not legacy overwrite)

Quick choice

Hardware has resale value and policy allows reuse → wipe (Purge) and recover value.

Physical shred (Destroy)

Physically destroy

Drive physically destroyed. No reconstruction
On-site at your dock (witnessed) or sealed off-site
Best for highest-sensitivity data or due to policy mandates
Ideal for failed/unwritable drives and mixed custody

Certificate of Destruction issued either way

Quick choice

Data is highly sensitive, the drive has failed, or audit requires physical destruction → shred (Destroy).

What NIST SP 800-88 requires

HIPAA, GLBA and other data sensitive frameworks require NIST Special Publication 800-88. It is the U.S. standard for media or asset sanitization. It defines three methods. We apply the one your data needs require and document it for audits

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Method 1

Clear

Logical overwrite for lower-sensitivity data on reusable media.

Method 2

Purge

Strong sanitization (incl. cryptographic erase) that does not allow lab recovery. This is our standard "wipe," verified per drive.

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Method 3

Destroy

Physical destruction (shredding). Makes any reconstruction infeasible.

Proof: the Certificate of Destruction

We offer free pick-up, with filing-ready evidence and certified receipt. Each data device is accounted for and reconciled as per your asset list. Accepted by a regulator, auditor, or internal risk team.

If you need a redacted sample Certificate of Destruction, we'll send one with your quote.

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What's on a CoD?

Make, model & serial number per device
Sanitization method (Purge / Destroy) & result
Date, location & witness/technician
Signed chain-of-custody from pickup to destruction
Pass/fail verification log (for wipes)

Our process is built for regulated teams

Our processes align with Healthcare, Finance, MSPs and more. The destruction method is as per your framework regulation, and documentation is what your auditors expect. These are the verticals we serve most.

Healthcare

HIPAA-aligned PHI destruction

NIST SP 800-88 wipe or on-site shred for drives that held PHI, with Certificates and BAAs available.

Healthcare ITAD →

Finance

GLBA / SOX / PCI-aligned

Destruction mapped to your controls, with serialized evidence for examiners and auditors.

Financial ITAD →

MSPs

White-label data destruction

Certified, documented destruction you can offer your own clients, recurring, and branded to you.

Managed ITAD →

Why security & compliance teams choose us

NIST SP 800-88 + R2v3 + ISO

Certified methods and verified downstream. Environment friendly, no export dumping.

On-site, witnessed shred

Drives never leave your custody intact; destruction happens at your dock.

Chain of custody, every handoff

Signed transfers from pickup to destruction. Audited, unbroken trail.

Fully insured

Coverage plus MSA/BAA available. The paperwork procurement and audits require.

Trusted & proven

4.7 Gartner rating. across 1,200+ jobs; teams at Verisk, Business Insider & more.

Value recovery option

Wipe-and-remarket eligible gear to offset the cost of the program.

Data destruction near you

We offer mobile shredding and on-site wipes across the tri-state from our Westampton, NJ R2v3 facility. Off-site and nationwide service available.

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New York / NYC

Philadelphia / PA

Connecticut

Boston

DC / VA

Baltimore

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Data destruction FAQs

Wipe (NIST SP 800-88 Purge) when the hardware has resale value and policy allows reuse and the data is unrecoverable and you can recover value. Shred (Destroy) for highest-sensitivity data, failed drives, or when your framework mandates physical destruction.

It's the U.S. standard for media sanitization, defining three methods: Clear, Purge and Destroy with verification and documentation required. HIPAA and other frameworks reference it. We apply the appropriate method and document it with a Certificate of Destruction.

Yes. Our mobile shredding comes to your dock so drives are destroyed in your custody, with a Certificate of Destruction issued on the spot. We also offer sealed off-site destruction and NIST SP 800-88 wipes.

Yes. SSDs and NVMe need cryptographic-erase or firmware-level purge rather than legacy overwrites, we apply the method the drive requires and verify the result, or shred if that's your policy.

A Certificate of Destruction with make/model/serial per device, method and result, date, location, witness, a signed chain-of-custody, and pass/fail verification logs for wipes the standard evidence package for HIPAA, GLBA, SOX and internal audits.

We align the destruction method to your framework (HIPAA, GLBA, SOX, PCI) and produce the serialized, audit-ready evidence those standards expect. BAAs and MSAs are available.

HDDs, SSDs/NVMe, LTO/tape, mobile/USB/SD, loose drives, and drives inside servers, laptops and desktops. Ask about any media not listed.

Same-week windows in most metros, fastest on-site across the NJ/NY/PA/CT tri-state from our Westampton, NJ facility. Off-site and nationwide programs are available.

Complete FAQs

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