Blancco Technology Group published new research examining how organizations handle hardware disposition. The findings indicate that many companies are still destroying functional devices at significant rates to reduce the risk of data exposure, despite many also saying they trust their existing data sanitization methods.
The Blancco 2026 State of Data Sanitization Report is based on the responses of 1,460 cybersecurity, IT, compliance and sustainability leaders from across North America, Europe, and APAC. It unpacks how some of the world’s largest organizations are managing end-of-life devices and sensitive data amid changing regulations, evolving security strategies and AI adoption.
Data leaks remain a major issue
According to the survey, 38% of organizations have suffered a data leak in the last twelve months. The most common cause of a data leak was improper network configurations (46%), with a significant number due to redeployed devices or drives storing sensitive data (32%), lost devices (42%) and stolen devices (25%).
While data leaks are less common than deliberate data breaches (reported by 58% of organizations), they remain a significant issue, with many leaks attributable to improper data handling during decommissioning.
Despite these findings, there are high levels of confidence in data sanitization procedures. For example, 73% of respondents said they were “very” or “extremely” confident that their devices were entirely free of sensitive data before disposal, with an additional 21% saying that they were “moderately confident.” As true data sanitization renders data beyond recovery, the findings suggest these levels of confidence may be misplaced.
Cybersecurity anxiety is driving organizations to destroy devices in a time of cost uncertainty
The report also found that many organizations continue to destroy working devices despite confidence in their sanitization procedures. A significant 43% of mobile devices, 35% of laptops and desktop PCs, and 44% of data center assets remain functional at the time of destruction, indicating many could potentially be redeployed when proper data destruction procedures are in place.
This comes at a time when rising memory and storage costs are driving up the price of PCs, smartphones, and other IT hardware. The findings suggest cybersecurity anxiety is leading organizations toward protecting data by destroying fully functional devices, even when doing so may lead to much higher costs.
Compliance continues to drive investment
Regulations are the number one driver of end-of-life data management changes (41%) made by organizations in the past year, followed by sustainability goals (35%) and changes in data storage technologies (34%).
Regulatory compliance is also driving investment, with 60% of respondents spending more on data privacy and protection, with an average increase of 40% more than the previous year.
Best practice sanitization is not universal
High levels of confidence and increased spending are not translating into universal best practice in data sanitization. Software-based data sanitization before a device disconnected from the network ensures the lowest level of risk and is considered best practice – but is only followed by 32% of respondents for mobile devices, 18% for laptops and desktop PCs, and 23% for data center assets.
Substandard processes, which do not verify data sanitization or certify results, are also in use. Factory reset without certification were used by 18% of respondents for mobile devices, while software-based overwriting tools without certification were used by 22% for laptops and desktop PCs and by 19% for data center assets.
“Organizations want to be compliant with data regulations and protect their customers’ data, but too often they are using inadequate techniques or ones that destroy devices as well as sensitive data,” said Lou DiFruscio, CEO of Blancco. “The unpredictable cost of buying new devices means more sustainable alternatives need to be considered – techniques that will keep data secure and allow devices to be reused and redeployed.”
Other findings include:
- 90% of organizations have deployed AI in the last year and of these, 99% have destroyed more devices as a result.
- Sustainability is seen as a major influence on data management decisions by 33% of organizations.
- 56% of organizations see data security as a major barrier to achieving sustainability goals.
The Blancco 2026 State of Data Sanitization Report is available to download here.
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Notes to Editors:
Blancco commissioned independent research agency Coleman Parkes to survey 1,460 cybersecurity, IT, compliance and sustainability leaders at large enterprises of over 5,000 employees and within various sectors. Respondents were split between North America (U.S. and Canada), Europe (UK, France, and Germany) and APAC (Japan, Singapore, India, and Australia). Fieldwork took place in January and February 2026.
