Using a Furnace or Shredder to Destroy the Drive As with ATA Secure Erase, the drive is left in a raw state, and a new key is generated within the drive. Access to the drive occurs through either software pre-boot authentication or a BIOS password.Įncryption management software allows a system administrator to delete and regenerate the encryption key residing in the SED, which leaves the previously written data indecipherable and therefore securely unrecoverable. On a self-encrypting hard drive (SED), the encryption key is stored within a small storage area on the drive, and the SED internal hardware passively encrypts and decrypts the incoming and outgoing data respectively.

Using Cryptographic Erasure on a Self-Encrypting Drive The command set exists within the SSD firmware, and management of the process is conducted by software that operates within a bootable environment on a USB key.ĭell do not recommend any software capable of utilising this process but you can find some useful information on the subject at It is designed to put the drive in a raw state by overwriting each bit of data as a zero. This is a common method of sanitization for non-encrypted SSD's. Using ATA Secure Erase for Solid State Hard Drives It should be noted that sanitization methods for spindle hard drives do not apply to SSD’s.

Media Destruction - Department of Defense standards approve of this method if compliant with specific guidelines.

Cryptographic Erase - On Self-Encrypting SSD’s, the encryption key can be changed or erased, which leaves all the encrypted data indecipherable, and therefore unrecoverable.

This command can be managed by software that runs within a bootable environment.

ATA Secure Erase - The SSD firmware has an embedded command set that will overwrite all data on the SSD.These three methods apply to sanitizing an entire physical disk, but not specific files or folders. There are currently three conventional methods for sanitizing SSD’s. In this article, the term 'disk sanitization' refers to the process of eliminating all data on the storage device so that it is impossible to recover. Article Summary:This article explains the industry standard methods of disk sanitization for solid state hard drives (SSD).ĭisk Sanitization Methods for Solid State Hard Drives

Dod erase hard drive