A Look at the Vital Methods of Data Destruction

Destruction of data becomes pivotal when electronic equipment is no longer needed. With the help of highly advanced recovery techniques available today, data can be very easily recovered from devices that have been improperly destroyed or wiped. A lot of companies today opt to make use of in-house resources for data destruction services and erasure of data. But, when the process is not enforced and audited in a strict manner, hard drives and equipment can get stolen, misplaced or lost. With the help of a well-managed data security program in place, accuracy and accountability can be guaranteed. Organizations are required to make risk-based decisions when it comes to selecting the method of data destruction.

Wipe

Data wiping is a common data destruction process and when performed in correct manner, it helps in erasing data while maintaining the functionality of device for the purpose of resale or reuse. With the help of this method, all the sectors of drive are rewritten multiple times over with random data to make sure that the old data is cleared. Wiping makes way for auditable reports that are in compliance with industry and federal standards. Nevertheless, professional technicians are needed to make sure that all the information is erased in an effective manner. This method cannot be utilized for hard drives that are damaged.

Delete

Reformatting or deleting of information is not that efficient. This method is effective for removing only pointers to information on the drive and not the digital information that can retrieved easily.

Degauss

Degaussing utilizes an extremely strong magnet that helps in altering the alignment in magnetic devices like hard drives and tapes and leaves the data unrecoverable. The method can be pretty expensive and makes the devices useless and they become incapable of resale and reuse. As solid state drives are gaining more popularity, this method is becoming outdated as solid state drives do not store data magnetically.

Crush

The hard drive destruction methods that include hammering, drilling, crushing or bending are not very effective. The storage chips or platter in the device may not be completely damaged and as a consequence, data can be recovered utilizing forensics software.

Shred

Shredding is the process in which devices are physically grinded into pieces and this makes them entirely inoperable and recovery of data is prevented. This drawback of shredding is that it leaves no opportunity for resale or reuse. Shredding makes use of professional equipment that is capable of destroying the chosen media type.