Why Data Sanitization Should Happen At The Enterprise-Before Assets Leave The Building
Techstrong.IT, Tuesday, January 6th, 2026
Data protection is critical in business partnerships, particularly when handling IT asset disposition and decommissioning. Increasingly, technology partners, such as IT asset disposition (ITAD) companies, are reluctant to take ownership of previously deployed devices that may still contain sensitive data, fearing potential liability if a breach occurs.
There is no shortage of examples illustrating just how fragile shared data protection responsibilities can be. In one notable case, IT and accounting consultancy Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, which operates a medical data analytics business, was sued after the personal information of 1.1 million individuals was compromised when an unauthorized actor accessed a managed service provider's systems.
The resulting finger-pointing, reputational fallout, and legal exposure demonstrated the reality of modern data governance: when data protection spans multiple organizations, accountability becomes blurred. The company is often left navigating the consequences, which may include fines due to data privacy regulation violations.