Kansas City’s Synetic Technologies has just been granted a U.S. patent for its Virtual Data Annihilator platform, which sorts, tracks and certifies erasure of data storage equipment.

Synetic specializes in information technology asset disposition (ITAD). It helps clients in a range of industries— health care, finance, technology, education and retail—to thoroughly remove files from their old equipment, which can then be recycled or resold.

That old data must be destroyed, or the files could end up in the hands of cybercriminals. And that could lead to data breaches and expensive lawsuits.

“When companies sell old hardware for value recovery, it is imperative that data be completely wiped from the system before it is reused,” said Ron Helmer, CEO of Synetic Technologies.

“Many companies entrust this process to third-party value recovery services, but without a transparent verification process, confidential client information and other sensitive data may still be at risk.”

Many companies in Synetic’s line of work use third-party software. Having its own platform means Synetic won’t have to pay extra licensing fees, lowering costs for its customers.

“While the end result is the same with Virtual Data Annihilator, owning the platform allows us to deliver these same services cost effectively at scale, which delivers our clients greater value,” Helmer said. “Virtual Data Annihilator is infinitely scalable, and deployable on-site, allowing us to tailor data destruction programs to meet the data security needs of any client.”