Data Destruction and Disposal

Question 1

Physical destruction - Data Destruction and Disposal

Answer 1

• Shredder - Heavy machinery - Complete destruction
• Drill / Hammer - Quick and easy - Platters, all the way through
• Electromagnetic (degaussing) - Remove the magnetic field
• Destroys the drive data and the electronics
• Incineration - Fire will remove everything

Question 2

Certificate of destruction - Data Destruction and Disposal

Answer 2

• Destruction is often done by a 3rd party
• You need confirmation that your data is destroyed
• Destruction service should include a certificate

Question 3

Disk formatting - Data Destruction and Disposal

Answer 3

• Low-level formatting - Provided at the factory
  
  • Not possible by the user
• Standard formatting / Quick format
  
  • Sets up the file system, installs a boot sector
  • Clears the master file table but not the data
  • Can be recovered with the right software
• Standard formatting / Regular format
  
  • Overwrites every sector with zeros
  • Windows Vista and later
  • Can’t recover the data

Question 4

Hard drive security - Data Destruction and Disposal

Answer 4

• File level overwriting - Sdelete – Windows Sysinternals
• Whole drive wipe secure data removal - DBAN - Darik’s Boot and Nuke
• Physical drive destruction - One-off or industrial removal and destroy