An organization is decommissioning several file servers that contained highly sensitive client records. To ensure the information cannot be recovered once these servers leave the facility, which approach best prevents later retrieval of the data stored on their drives?
Peel off labels and barcodes from the drive enclosures
Remove the file-system and partition entries with an operating-system command
Perform repeated writes of random patterns on the drives using specialized utilities
Detach the drives and record their serial numbers before placing them in off-site storage
Using specialized wiping utilities to perform repeated overwrites with random or fixed patterns purges residual magnetic traces on hard disks, meeting NIST SP 800-88 media-sanitization guidance. Simply detaching drives for storage, deleting partition metadata, or removing external labels does not eliminate the underlying data and therefore does not reliably prevent forensic recovery.
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Why is performing repeated writes of random patterns effective for data destruction?
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What are some commonly used tools for securely wiping drives?
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How does data recovery work, and why are labels or partitions irrelevant in preventing it?