PDA Q&A: The E-Interview, Marina Schloff

Marina Shchloff, the chief sales officer with Phiston Technologies Inc. in Southfield, discusses data safety and security.
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Courtesy of Phiston Technologies
Courtesy of Phiston Technologies

DB: Where are you?

MS: In Miramar, Fla., to attend our ribbon-cutting ceremony to open Phiston Technologies’ new state-of-the-art R&D, engineering, design, and manufacturing facility.

DB: What’s driving the growth?

MS: Due to the increase in data breaches, more and more companies are looking for digital and physical data security solutions to protect their organizations from legal and security repercussions that arise from corporate espionage, hackers, and potential data breaches. Phiston has pioneered the development of safe, effective, in-house, high-security media, and data destroyers.

DB: How does it work?

MS: When it comes to properly disposing of old hard drives, cellphones, and other data storage media, Phiston’s method of physically destroying and shredding hardware into small particles is the safest, most foolproof method to ensure the complete removal of all data. We know research studies show data can still be retrieved even after a hard drive, for example, has been reformatted or erased.

DB: Is it a big problem?

MS: Yes. Companies such as Ontrack and DriveSavers claim they can recover lost data from any storage device that hasn’t been properly destroyed. According to Cygnus Systems, a cybersecurity IT company, a hacker attack happens every 39 seconds and the global average cost of a data breach is $3.9 million across small and mid-size businesses. Plus, cybersecurity insurance costs are on the rise.

DB: Who are your customers?

MS: Phiston is the vendor of choice for Amazon, Twitter, LinkedIn, Salesforce, IBM, Facebook, SpaceX, and many more companies, along with federal government agencies such as DoD, State, Treasury, DHS, HHS, Justice, and state and local governments. Our devices are sold as desktop units or portable machines, and they’re safe and simple to operate.