Storage device manufacturer Plasmon has developed read-only
back-up discs that allow companies to selectively destroy data
while leaving the rest of the disc's contents intact. The disc,
designed to support regulatory compliance requirements, is able
to retain a record to confirm that data has been destroyed, so
managers can prove that the company has met its compliance
requirements. Claus Egge, programme director, European storage
research at analyst firm IDC, said the discs were an industry
first and would be suitable for the pharmaceutical, medical and
legal industries, which are required to protect personal data
and destroy it after use. He added that the Data Protection Act
required, for example, certain call centres to destroy client
records after use. The disc is based on Plasmon's UDO (Ultra
Density Optical) format. UDO is a phase-change optical storage
system, which stores data by physically changing the state of
the disc's recording layer between amorphous and crystalline.
With Plasmon's media, data