Data Erasure Services: Types And Functioning

Data Erasure services address the query of “How are you disposing of your data, and are you 100% certain it is secure?” This is one of those million-dollar questions that haunt corporate IT managers across the globe daily.

Let Us First Delve Into The Types That Data Erasure Services Facilitate:

• Physical Destruction: 

This is one of the most straightforward solutions to erase the data stored on one’s device, i.e. media destruction on a physical level. This is ideal if you do not need said data or plan to resell or reuse the media. If it’s not in the works to reuse or resell the media, you can choose to destroy it physically. Here, while smashing your laptop against the wall like in the movies is as good a solution as any, it’s not exactly safe; instead, one can use a degausser. A degausser creates a magnetic field or wave that suitably destroys the magnetic domains for data storage purposes upon its application to the media. This works if you have a media with a traditional HDD or tape, but shredding it would be ideal if you have a device with an SSD/Flash drive. Professional data erasure services will shred and recycle both HDD and SSD drives for you; however, it is vital to ensure that you undertake a thorough verification for authenticity before hiring them.

• Formatting: 

The process of formatting a drive using the OS prepares the drive to store data and setup to erase all data stored on the disk. Here, there are several different options one can opt for while performing a formatted disk. Suppose you want to sanitise your hard drive completely. In that case, you need to select the full format and make sure the OS is designed explicitly to pattern fill the drives while choosing the full format option. As a result, overwriting all of the data on the drive will make it safe to reuse or resell. While this is an effective option, it can be quite time-consuming.

• Overwriting: 

One can, intentionally or unintentionally, write a set of data upon the existing data; thus, making it unrecoverable. This practice works suitably with traditional HDD formats; however, it is less reliable for SSD media due to its complexity. Given how erasure software interfaces with the drive, overwriting can overlook user data blocks, thus not doing a thorough job. This sanitising media method is typically achieved by optimising erasure software found in the market. The authenticity might vary based on the one you choose; while some can present 100% effectiveness for sanitising media, others are not reliable.

• Crypto Erase: 

With the advent of data encryption on devices, it brings a method to ease data referred to as crypto erase. Irrespective of being a self-encrypting drive or a drive with software encryption, these can be optimised in either case. Crypto ease is a simple basic method that is quick and relatively straightforward. Here, the first step is to ensure that your data has encryption, followed by overwriting and then deleting the key. 

Lastly, verification is crucial to gain certified understanding and reassurance of whether or not the task was fulfilled adequately and optimally. The pointers mentioned above enlist the types of data erasing methods that data erasure services supply to secure and safe unwanted data.