The NRC’s ITAD Failures: A Costly Reminder of Why IT Asset Management Matters

By: Levi Hentges, Vice President / Development, SEAM

The latest federal audit of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) uncovered serious IT asset management failures that should serve as a wake-up call for organizations across industries. Mismanaged IT assets don’t just create security risks—they can lead to financial waste, compliance failures, and operational inefficiencies. If your business is retiring IT equipment without a clear, accountable process, you could be making the same costly mistakes.

What Happened at the NRC?

The July 2024 audit, conducted by the NRC’s assistant inspector general, found widespread problems with the agency’s IT asset management. Here are the biggest concerns:

• Lost or Unaccounted-for Assets: The audit revealed that four laptops were missing after three employees left the agency in 2023. Additionally, out of 980 tracked assets, over two-thirds were not actually in their recorded locations.
• Backlog of Unprocessed Devices: A staggering 1,500 IT assets were stored at NRC headquarters awaiting disposal, some sitting idle since 2022.
• Poor Contract Wording Led to Delays: The NRC’s ITAD vendor contract did not include specific wording requiring timely completion of data sanitization, leading to delays and an increasing backlog of devices.
• Confusion Over Responsibilities: The agency’s verification step for decommissioning assets was unclear, causing delays and making it uncertain who was responsible for processing retired IT equipment.
• Wasted Budget on Unused Devices: The backlog resulted in $37,000 in unnecessary software license costs for devices that should have been retired.

Why This Matters to Your Business

If an agency responsible for nuclear energy regulation struggles to track its IT assets, how confident are you in your own ITAD process? The NRC’s mistakes highlight common risks that businesses face when IT asset management is not handled properly:

• Data Security Risks: If devices aren’t properly tracked, sensitive data could be left on misplaced or lost hardware, exposing your organization to potential data breaches.
• Regulatory and Compliance Issues: Industries subject to regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, or SOX must follow strict IT asset disposal policies. Failing to properly decommission devices can result in costly penalties.
• Operational Inefficiencies: Storing old IT assets that should have been retired wastes valuable office space, creates logistical headaches, and causes unnecessary spending.
• Financial Waste: As seen with the NRC, keeping outdated devices in inventory can lead to wasted software licensing fees and unnecessary IT expenditures.

How SEAM Helps Businesses Avoid These Pitfalls

At SEAM, we specialize in secure, transparent IT asset disposition, ensuring our customers never face the risks seen in the NRC audit. Here’s how we help businesses maintain complete IT asset control:

• Full Asset Tracking & Chain of Custody: Every device is logged, monitored, and accounted for throughout its lifecycle, eliminating the risk of misplaced or lost assets.
• Strict Contractual Service Levels: Unlike the NRC’s ITAD contract, ours include clear timelines for data sanitization and device disposal, ensuring nothing gets delayed or stockpiled.
• Certified Data Destruction: As an NAID AAA-certified provider, we guarantee proper data erasure or destruction for every device, maintaining compliance with all relevant regulations.
• Cost Savings & Efficiency: By streamlining ITAD processes, we help organizations avoid unnecessary costs, such as wasted software licensing on retired devices.

Don’t Let ITAD Become an Afterthought

The NRC’s IT asset management failures are a perfect example of why ITAD needs to be a priority for every organization. If you’re not tracking your retired IT assets, securing your data, and ensuring timely disposal, you’re exposing your business to financial and security risks.

At SEAM, we work with companies to eliminate these risks and ensure ITAD is done right. Contact us today to learn how we can help your organization stay protected and efficient.

Levi Hentges is the Vice President / Development at SEAM. He helps clients build and manage their IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) programs to comply with legal, corporate and environmental requirements surrounding their technology devices; including asset recovery and resale, data destruction and secure electronics recycling.