A portable data storage device has been determined to have malicious firmware. Which of the following is the BEST course of action to ensure data confidentiality?

Formatting the device only erases the file system and stored data partitions, but does not overwrite or remove malicious firmware embedded in the device's controller chip, leaving the threat intact.

Re-imaging applies to operating systems on computers, not to portable storage device firmware; it does not address firmware-level malware residing in the device's onboard controller.

According to the provided answer key, performing a virus scan is marked correct; a virus scan can identify and potentially quarantine malicious software on the device's accessible storage partitions. However, it is worth noting that malicious firmware operates at a hardware level below what antivirus tools can remediate, so this answer is widely contested and considered insufficient for true data confidentiality assurance.

Although physically destroying the device is widely regarded as the most thorough method to eliminate firmware-level threats and ensure data confidentiality, it was not selected as the correct answer in this question's answer key.