A company recently had a security breach and is now required to ensure that all data is removed from a PC once it leaves the building. Which of the following should the technician perform?

The correct answer is D. A low level format. A low-level format (also known as a secure erase, zero-fill, or DoD wipe) overwrites every sector of the drive with zeros or random patterns, making previously stored data forensically unrecoverable. This is the appropriate choice for sensitive data sanitization. A standard…

Hardware and network troubleshooting

Question

Options

AA standard format
BReset PC to factory default
CA quick format
DA low level format

How the community answered

(28 responses)

B
4% (1)
C
7% (2)
D
89% (25)

Explanation

A low-level format (also known as a secure erase, zero-fill, or DoD wipe) overwrites every sector of the drive with zeros or random patterns, making previously stored data forensically unrecoverable. This is the appropriate choice for sensitive data sanitization. A standard format (A) and a quick format (C) only remove file system pointers (the file allocation table/MFT) - the actual data remains on disk and is easily recoverable with common forensic tools. Resetting to factory defaults (B) reinstalls the OS but does not securely wipe user data from the drive. Given a confirmed security breach and data destruction policy, low-level format is the correct and most thorough solution.

Topics

#low level format#data sanitization#hard drive security#data removal

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