Data security means keeping data out of the wrong hands. This is especially important when storage media is no longer usable and needs to be decommissioned. The data must be truly destroyed, for both security and compliance.
The trouble is ‘deleting’ data doesn’t really delete data. It’s still possible to extract data from a device that has been deleted, re-formatted and even damaged physically. The highest form of data destruction makes it unreadable on the device, then destroys the device. But, how do you make data truly unreadable?
What is Data Destruction?
The amount of data enterprises manage and secure is growing fast. The problem also grows because of procrastination born of cheap storage and overworked staff. This is bad security and bad compliance.
Forget deleting and reformatting. Deleting merely frees up the space taken by the deleted files for use by other data. The ‘deleted’ files can be easily recovered until those spaces are overwritten. Reformatting simply deletes the entire drive or partition. Overwriting, or wiping, replaces old data with new, arbitrary data. And, it’s better than deleting. But, it might miss some data.
The best method for making data unreadable is degaussing, which exposes magnetic storage devices (hard drives, magnetic tape, floppy disks, etc.) to a high-intensity magnetic field of alternating amplitude. Degaussing not only erases data, but also destroys the device.
Degaussing creates two problems. First, it’s not effective for solid state drives (SSDs). Second, degaussing is unverifiable. Because the drive is ruined, the deletion of data cannot be confirmed. Additionally, wiping could be incomplete, and degaussing can’t be verified.
Good data deletion calls for destruction.
Let’s Get Physical
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