A company is transitioning to solid-state drives and needs to securely prepare their existing mechanical hard drives for donation. To ensure data cannot be retrieved by third parties but still provide functional drives to the recipients, what process should be followed?
Run a software-based data sanitization tool on the drives to overwrite existing data with random patterns.
Perform a quick format and encrypt the remaining data on each drive to prevent easy access.
Fill the drives with dummy data files until the storage is full, then format the drives.
Dismantle the drives and manually scratch the magnetic platters before the donation.
The correct process is to use a software-based data sanitization tool that adheres to a recognized standard (like DoD 5220.22-M) for securely erasing the content of the drive. This tool overwrites all sectors with patterns of data to effectively prevent data recovery.
A quick format only removes the address tables and does not erase data thoroughly; recovery software could potentially retrieve the data. Encryption of existing data without the erasure does not remove the data, so if the encryption is broken, the data could be compromised. Dismantling the drive contradicts the goal of repurposing as it destroys the hardware.
Ask Bash
Bash is our AI bot, trained to help you pass your exam. AI Generated Content may display inaccurate information, always double-check anything important.
What is a software-based data sanitization tool?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
What are the potential consequences of performing only a quick format on a hard drive?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
Why is it not sufficient to just fill drives with dummy data and format them?