Which of the following hard drive sanitation methods provides an organization with the GREATEST level of assurance that data has been permanently erased?

The correct answer is A. Degaussing the drive. Degaussing exposes a magnetic hard drive to an extremely powerful magnetic field that randomizes and destroys the magnetic domains storing data, rendering the drive completely unreadable and unrecoverable - even with forensic tools. It is the highest-assurance method for magnetic

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Question

Options

ADegaussing the drive
BFactory resetting the drive
CCrypto-shredding the drive
DReformatting the drive

How the community answered

(55 responses)

A
93% (51)
B
4% (2)
C
2% (1)
D
2% (1)

Explanation

Degaussing exposes a magnetic hard drive to an extremely powerful magnetic field that randomizes and destroys the magnetic domains storing data, rendering the drive completely unreadable and unrecoverable - even with forensic tools. It is the highest-assurance method for magnetic media. Factory resetting (B) and reformatting (D) typically only remove file system pointers, leaving underlying data recoverable. Crypto-shredding (C) is effective for encrypted drives but depends on key management; if a key was ever exposed, data may be at risk. Degaussing provides the most absolute, verifiable destruction for traditional magnetic drives.

Topics

#Data sanitation#Data erasure#Media destruction#Technical controls

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