As an IT professional, you understand the importance of protecting sensitive corporate data from theft or lost devices. While anti-theft measures for devices are essential, data wiping is a crucial aspect of security. Don’t underestimate your data’s value—especially your important data—as it’s your business’s lifeblood, and that’s why data wiping can safeguard your company’s most precious asset.
We can’t store it all in a box. As modern corporations of the 21st century, we’ve embedded information technology throughout our company’s structure into sensors, processors, cloud computing, laptops, and mobile devices, covering many different device types that are all at risk. In a business environment, managing and wiping multiple devices efficiently becomes a significant challenge, as handling numerous endpoints can be time-consuming and may require specialized solutions.
It’s not just a matter of keeping our team connected - it’s crucial that they have access to sensitive data even when they’re on the go. This sounds great until we realize our IT assets, including the organization’s devices, are under threat all the time. It is essential to ensure that all the data across these devices is protected and fully accounted for to prevent any residual risks.
In the United Kingdom, for example, police were investigating the theft of 3,000 photographs of the British Royal Family after hackers broke into Pippa Middleton’s iCloud account, the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister.
We can’t treat the Royal Family like a group of acquaintances meeting over Thanksgiving and leave their coverage to gossip magazines. They are a complex and dynamic business entity that deserves professional treatment.
With someone demanding £50,000 within 48 hours under a pseudonym, what was once a simple stack of leaked pictures, turned into a ransomware case, as reported by The Sun.
What is data wiping vs. data deletion?
From an enterprise standpoint, understanding the difference between data deletion and data wiping is critical. While the terms are often used interchangeably, the security implications are vastly different—especially when managing sensitive data across a fleet of business devices.
Deletion doesn’t mean erasure
When a file is “deleted,” only its reference in the file system is removed. The actual data remains on the drive until it’s overwritten—and can often be recovered with basic forensic tools. In other words, deleted data is still accessible to anyone with the intent and tools to retrieve it.
This might be acceptable for non-sensitive or temporary files, but for business-critical information—such as customer data, financial records, or IP—it poses a significant security and compliance risk.
Data wiping ensures complete, permanent erasure
Data wiping is a secure process that goes beyond deletion by permanently overwriting the contents of a device. Overwriting data with random data is a key method to ensure information cannot be retrieved, making the data unrecoverable. This process is essential when devices are lost, stolen, repurposed, or decommissioned. It’s also a core requirement for meeting global data protection standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
Unlike a basic factory reset or file deletion, enterprise-grade data wiping helps your organization:
- Minimize the risk of data leaks or recovery
- Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory obligations
- Maintain control and visibility over sensitive assets throughout the device lifecycle
When should businesses wipe vs. delete?
In short: deletion is reversible—wiping is not. For organizations managing remote endpoints or adhering to strict compliance standards, secure wiping should be the default approach whenever a device leaves company control or stores regulated data.
When should businesses wipe data? Key use cases
Now that we’ve clarified the difference between deletion and secure data wiping, the next question is: when should wiping be prioritized across your organization?
In a corporate environment, data resides on dozens—sometimes thousands—of endpoints that move between departments, users, and locations. Without a standardized wiping policy, these endpoints can become high-risk vectors for data exposure.
Here are five critical scenarios where wiping corporate devices isn’t just recommended—it’s essential:
1. Lost or stolen devices
When a device is lost or stolen, speed is everything. Delayed reporting or uncertainty around what data was stored locally can escalate the situation. A remote wipe capability ensures that sensitive business data can be securely erased, even if the device is no longer physically accessible. Organizations can remotely wipe lost or stolen devices to prevent unauthorized access and protect critical information.
This is especially important when the device contains regulated data (e.g., PII, financial records, proprietary files), where failure to act swiftly could result in non-compliance, data breaches, or legal consequences.
2. Employee offboarding
Employee transitions—especially in remote or hybrid work models—pose a major security risk if not handled properly. Whether voluntary or involuntary, all access points must be revoked, and the endpoint should be wiped as part of a secure offboarding checklist.
This protects company data from being accessed, shared, or retained post-employment and supports a clean handoff of IT assets.
Wiping the device ensures that company data doesn’t walk out the door, intentionally or not.
3. Retiring old hardware
Before you donate, recycle, or dispose of outdated laptops, tablets, or smartphones, ensure a complete data wipe is performed. Simply deleting files or performing a factory reset may leave recoverable data behind.
Secure wiping at this stage is a key part of device decommissioning protocols and often required for compliance with data protection regulations and internal IT policies.
4. BYOD exit protocols
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs offer flexibility—but come with complexity. When an employee leaves or a personal device is no longer authorized for work use, organizations must remove business data without affecting the user’s personal content.
This is where selective data wiping becomes critical. A modern MDM solution, like Prey, can enforce corporate data erasure while leaving personal files intact—respecting privacy while maintaining security.
5. Transferring devices between departments or users
Even when a device stays within the organization, a transfer between employees or departments presents a risk. Each user may have different access privileges, data requirements, or applications installed.
Before reassigning the device, perform a full wipe to ensure a clean, policy-compliant handoff. This process is necessary to completely remove all previous data and configurations. This helps prevent accidental data exposure and avoids configuration drift that could compromise endpoint security.
Implementing data wiping in these scenarios isn’t just about ticking off IT tasks—it’s about protecting your business, your data, and your compliance posture at every step of the device lifecycle.
Why protecting corporate data means going beyond device security
Modern organizations don’t just rely on devices—they run on them. From laptops and mobile phones to tablets and external drives, sensitive business data lives on every endpoint. And when those endpoints go missing, the risk extends far beyond hardware loss.
According to CSO Online, 80% of corporate laptops and desktops contain sensitive data, while 46% of IT leaders store sensitive data in the cloud. Yet physical loss and theft remain among the top causes of data breaches. In fact, the average global cost of a data breach is now $4.45 million, according to IBM’s 2023 report.
The takeaway? It’s easier to steal a laptop than to breach a firewall. And that makes unprotected devices a tempting entry point for attackers. That’s why wiping corporate data is your best shot at minimizing exposure and maintaining compliance. This crucial step helps prevent sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
Most organizations still aren’t prepared
A recent Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) report showed that device loss, theft, and human error are still major contributors to data breaches. Yet many organizations lag behind on basic protections:
- Only 45% of companies maintain an inventory of authorized and unauthorized devices.
- 28% of executives cite mobile device loss as a top data security concern.
- And with the rise of BYOD, remote work, and decentralized IT environments, the risk surface continues to expand.
Why device-level protection isn't enough
Encryption, strong passwords, and employee training are essential—but they can only go so far. If a device is lost or stolen and still contains accessible data, this is especially critical when the device holds confidential data. The consequences can include:
- Regulatory penalties under GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA
- Legal action from customers, partners, or employees
- Brand and reputational damage
- Operational disruption from compromised systems or accounts
That’s why data wiping—particularly remote and selective wiping—must be part of your endpoint security strategy. It’s the final safeguard when all other defenses are out of reach.
The moment a device leaves your control, wiping corporate data is your best shot at minimizing exposure and maintaining compliance.
How data wiping works when devices are lost or stolen
When a corporate laptop or mobile device is lost or stolen, the clock starts ticking. The longer it takes to respond, the greater the risk of unauthorized access, data leaks, and regulatory exposure. This is where remote data wiping becomes an essential layer of your security response. A remote wipe command can be issued to initiate the data erasure process, ensuring that sensitive information is removed from the device even if it is not physically accessible.
Unlike basic deletion or factory resets, data wiping uses secure methods to overwrite or erase data completely, making it irretrievable—even with advanced recovery tools. And in enterprise environments, that level of certainty matters.
Key requirements for remote wiping
To successfully initiate a remote wipe on a business device, a few technical conditions must be met:
- Device connectivity: The endpoint must be online—via Wi-Fi, mobile data, or any network connection—for the wipe command to be received and executed.
- Pre-installed wiping software or MDM agent: Remote wiping requires the device to be enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) solution or have dedicated wiping software installed (like Prey).
- Permissions and access controls: IT administrators must have proper access rights to issue the wipe securely and log the action for auditing.
If a device is offline, the wipe command will queue and execute automatically the next time it connects.
If remote wiping is not possible, physical access to the device may be necessary to perform secure data wiping.
Managing personal devices: The case for selective wiping
In organizations with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, wiping the entire device isn’t always an option. Employees often use their personal smartphones or laptops to access company data—and understandably, they don’t want their personal files erased.
This is where selective wiping comes into play.
Instead of wiping the entire device, selective wiping targets only corporate apps, data containers, or credentials—removing business-related information while preserving personal content. Prey and other MDM solutions offer this capability to help businesses balance security with employee privacy.
Without selective wipe, businesses face a difficult tradeoff: risk data exposure, or risk employee trust.
Common data wiping methods in business
Depending on your platform and tools, here are a few secure ways to perform enterprise data erasure:
Wiping isn’t just about deletion—it’s about control
Without a robust wiping protocol, IT teams are left relying on users to report incidents quickly and respond properly. But in reality, 2 out of 5 employees delay reporting a missing device for fear of losing personal data, according to CSO Online. This creates dangerous windows of risk—especially in remote work environments.
With a secure, scalable wiping strategy in place, your organization can respond to lost or stolen devices confidently and compliantly—minimizing exposure while maintaining business continuity.
Compliance and legal considerations for enterprise data wiping
Whether you’re handling customer data, employee records, or intellectual property, your organization has a legal obligation to ensure that sensitive information is fully protected throughout the device lifecycle—including when those devices are lost, stolen, reassigned, or retired. Maintaining records of erased data is essential for compliance, as it provides proof that data has been properly destroyed and helps your organization meet regulatory requirements.
Why standard deletion isn’t enough
Relying on basic file deletion or factory resets exposes your business to unnecessary risk. These methods don’t fully remove data from a device’s storage and leave it vulnerable to recovery using widely available tools. For regulated industries, this simply isn’t acceptable.
That’s why remote wiping for business devices—backed by a documented policy and supported by reliable technology—is now a critical component of any data protection strategy.
Regulations demand secure erasure
Many global and industry-specific regulations explicitly require organizations to erase sensitive data securely. Here's how a few of the most prominent frameworks treat data destruction:
- GDPR (EU): Article 17—the "right to be forgotten"—requires that personal data be erased without delay when no longer necessary. Organizations must prove data has been irreversibly removed, including from lost or decommissioned devices.
- HIPAA (US): Healthcare entities must implement policies and procedures to ensure that protected health information (PHI) is rendered unreadable or indecipherable before disposal—typically via secure erasure or destruction.
- CCPA/CPRA (California): Requires businesses to safeguard and properly dispose of personal data, and to honor requests for deletion from consumers, reinforcing the need for verifiable data erasure processes.
- PCI DSS: Organizations handling payment card data must “render cardholder data unrecoverable upon disposal,” especially for devices storing this information outside of centralized databases.
Failure to meet these requirements can result in severe penalties, class-action lawsuits, and reputational harm—making secure data destruction and remote wipe capabilities not just a technical solution, but a legal safeguard.
Secure wiping as part of a defensible security policy
To stay compliant and minimize liability, organizations should build secure erasure into their device lifecycle policies. The essential elements of an effective data wiping policy include provable erasure, detailed audit trails, consistent execution, and comprehensive documentation. This includes:
- Enforcing remote wipe capabilities on all endpoints via MDM or endpoint protection software
- Including wipe verification and status in internal audit logs
- Performing data wiping before device reassignment, retirement, or resale
- Documenting every wipe operation as part of your compliance posture
A defensible data protection policy is one that includes provable erasure, detailed audit trails, and consistent execution across the organization.
Audit trails and accountability
In the event of an investigation or audit, your organization may be asked to prove that a device was securely wiped, when it was wiped, and what method was used. This means your wiping process must be:
- Automated and consistent
- Logged with timestamps, user identity, and outcome
- Easily exportable for compliance review
Tools like Prey provide detailed reporting and tracking for each remote wipe action—giving IT teams the documentation they need to satisfy internal and external audits.
Choosing the right data wiping method
Not all data wiping methods offer the same level of security, speed, or regulatory alignment. The best approach depends on your use case, the device type, the sensitivity of the data, and whether or not the device is physically accessible. Some methods to securely erase data can be time consuming, especially when dealing with large volumes or multiple devices.
For example, decommissioning hundreds of corporate laptops requires a different wiping strategy than remotely erasing a lost smartphone. And while encryption key destruction is effective for rendering data inaccessible, some compliance frameworks still require physical or verifiable digital erasure.
Below, we break down the most commonly used data wiping methods to help you select the most effective option for each scenario.
Best practices for selecting the right method
- Match the method to the risk level. For confidential or regulated data, software-based overwrites, secure erase, or key destruction should be the minimum.
- Use encryption proactively. Devices encrypted at rest are easier to "wipe" quickly and securely by destroying the key.
- Validate and document. Especially for compliance, always maintain logs of wipe actions (date, method, device, user), and confirm the method meets regulatory standards (e.g., NIST 800-88, DoD 5220.22-M).
- Layer where necessary. Combine encryption + remote wipe + physical destruction when handling highly sensitive or multi-jurisdictional data.
How Prey enables secure remote data wiping for businesses
Throughout this guide, we’ve explored why secure data wiping is essential for protecting sensitive business information—especially when devices are lost, stolen, or decommissioned. The key takeaway? Data security isn’t just about prevention. It’s about preparation. And when it comes to acting fast and decisively, Prey gives your organization the tools to stay in control.
Prey’s remote wipe for business devices is built for modern IT environments—whether you're managing a fleet of laptops, mobile phones, or a hybrid mix of employee and company-owned devices. It’s not just about erasing data—it’s about doing it securely, at scale, and with full visibility.
What Prey offers:
Cross-platform support
Prey enables secure remote wiping across Windows, macOS,, and Android devices, so your IT team can manage any endpoint from a single dashboard.
Real-time command execution
Initiate a remote wipe or factory reset from the Prey Control Panel. As soon as the device connects to the internet, the command executes—giving you control even when time is critical.
Automated wipe triggers
Define custom rules that trigger automated wipe actions—such as geofencing breaches, device marked as missing, or inactivity—so your response is fast, even when manual action isn’t possible.
Detailed logs and audit reports
Every wipe action is tracked and documented, including timestamps, user IDs, and status updates. This gives you the audit trail required for compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
With Prey, your business gains a trusted partner for MDM data wiping, device tracking, access control, and endpoint visibility. It’s security that moves at the speed of your organization.
Ready to take control of your endpoint security? Get started with Prey for Business.
