How to Securely Erase Hard Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSDs) in 2016
Information security is top priority for most of us. Being the victim of a data breach or identity theft is a costly problem that can be avoided when using the right tools. The firm Blancco Technology Group did an interesting analysis of second hand hard drives and SSDs. In Balancco’s study “The Leftovers: A Data Recovery Study,” they found that out of the 200 hundred second hand HDDs and SSDs, 67% contained pemaersonally identifiable information and another 11% contained sensitive company information.
These second hand drives were not purchases from arbritrary places, they could have been purchases from ordinary places like Amazon, eBay, Craigslist and the like. To help you with this huge issue, we are going to explain the minimum level of security you should take when disposing or selling storage devices.
Hardware is another method used to erase hard drives. This method is easier than the one previously mentioned. Users simply purchase a device that connects to your hard disk and run through the process. WiebeTech Drive eRazer Ultra is a very simple tool that is reliable and effective. This device costs you about 250. It has the added benefit of being faster than the previously mentioned software and is generally easier to use.
Destruction of disks is the most effective way of guaranteeing information is irretrievable. None of the previously mentioned methods guarantee that they will work on hard disks that are defective. Companies like WEBUYUSEDITEQUIPMENT.net will use equipment like shredders to streamline the process of destroying hard drives. However, for end users, another effective method is removing the platter from within the hard disk and puncturing/bending the platter with a nail and hammer. This guarantees that information is irretrievable. To be safe we recommend that you puncture the disk at least three times and bend the platter with a hammer.
HDD
There are three effective ways of securely erasing your HDDs. Software is often times the most used method for erasing hard disks. The process however is not fast and one needs to be very mindful not to accidently delete data on the computer operating the eraser. Darik’s Boot and Nuke is an excellent tool for erasing HDDs. Be aware that this software works specifically for hard disks and does not work as effectively for SSDs. This software is downloaded and installed on a bootable device such as a CD, DVD, or bootable USB. Once installed, the computer used to erase the HDDs will need to be booted from the bootable device. The interface is relatively intuitive and there is an excellent array of wipe methods including DOD 5220.22-M and Gutmann Wipe. The one thing that you need to be very careful about is to only wipe the data from the targeted hard disk. If you are using your personal computer you will see in production hard disks along with the targeted one. To avoid this confusion it might be best to just unplug the non-target hard drive. Additionally, because the process is long, it might be best to use an old PC so that your current PC is not unusable.


