The Dark Side of Cloud Data Centers

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Cost efficiency, convenient file handling, easily scalability, reliability and durability.

Those are some key advantages, which attracting people to use cloud storage services for businesses and personal needs.

There are so many cloud storage service (cloud data center) providers are spread across the world.

 

What is Cloud Storage Service (Cloud Data Center)? 

Cloud Data Center is a 'Server' with a large number of hard drives connected to a data management computer system via a network.

It can be a single server or an interconnection of multiple servers in different geographical locations.

When you registering to Cloud storage service (Data center) the computer system will allocate a portion of storage for your account.

Then, it will save your uploaded data in to a hard disk in somewhere inside the storage network.

Accordingly the Hard drive becomes the most valuable part in a data center and Service provider must be accountable for all the data in those drives. 

So, they should follow strong security precautions for preventing data leakage, data losses, corruption, fraud or stealing.

In general, any hard drive has its own life cycle, and some data corruptions or hardware failures may occur due to health degradation over time with use.

Because of this, most cloud service providers displace the drives after distinct time period or end of manufacturer’s warranty period.

What will do for those hard disks?

According to the statistics forecasts as of 2021;

There are approx. 8,000 data centers in the world (statics by Techjury),

With total around 500 Exabyte of actual data capacity (statics by statista Inc.),

By the above details, you will be able to guess how many hard disks might be using in data centers.

 

Typically more than 90% of drives in a cloud system are used for user’s confidential data; so, those will shredded.

The drives used for less sensitive non-confidential data can be used for resale or reuse for other purposes by erasing existing contents.

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But still they won't be able to guarantee a zero risk policy for their users even by shredding the drive,

Since modern large capacity hard drives have about 500,000 data tracks per square inch, a person who has masterful talent about data recovery technology, could be retrieve data from even 3mm piece of a disk.

To prevent those confusions in 2022, IEEE Standards Association (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) approved three standards for removing data from devices, the process known as sanitization.

Sanitization by Clear, Purge and Destroy

1. Clear:

Hard drives which containing non-confidential data are erased by reformatting tools, this will be the least method for non-sensitive drives to reuse. But the data can be recover using special recovery tools. 

2. Purge: 

There are several methods in Purge,

- Destroying existing confidential data by overwriting the entire volume to a different pattern of data; 

But this method is not practically suitable for modern high capacity drives; it may be take one to two days to erase a drive.

- In such case a method call cryptographic erase is used for those drives. 

All existing data will be encrypted by a special tool, and not be able to decrypt or retrieve data without having decrypting key.

Data cannot be recovered once this key is deleted and is very effective for risk management.

Most modern hard drives are built with this encryption technology, 

So, users won’t be worry for their data security in future.

After introduction of purging the reusability and sustainability of storage device manufacturing industry has increased.

Currently, data center service providers are expected to follow the above standard process in router disposal as well. Because they also store valuable network information.

Leading data storage device manufacturer Seagate announced that they have generated $1.1 million from the resale of refurbished drives in 2022, avoiding approximately 540 tons of electronic waste (e-waste).

3. Destroy: 

In this Method, selected relevant drives will destroy by melting or incineration, neither data nor physical material can be recovered, this ensures 100% of zero risk policy for users. This would be the most extreme method to destroy highly sensitive data.

Furthermore;

As a result of this modern industrial development, Environmental pollution caused by electronic waste (e-waste) has become a serious threat.

According to the global statistics announced by Statista Inc, more than 50 million metric tons of e-waste is generated every year, averagely its some 7Kg of e-waste per capita.

In some case E-waste can be laden with hazardous and carcinogenic elements like mercury, lead, and cadmium, posing significant threat to the environment and human health.

According to the United Nations, only a small fraction(less than 20 percent) of e-waste is formally recycled, with 80 percent being landfilled or recycled informally. This may take around fifty to million years for decompose or biodegrade.

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So, every IT or electronic device manufacturers should look at this matter from an environmental-friendly angle to overcome this crisis.

As a turning point, Instead of above total destruction method (melting and incineration) must be having some innovation to reacquire all chemical elements and subject 100% recycle every equipment which is being dispose by both IT and Electronic industries.