In today’s world, the age-old question “Does size really matter?” has possibly inspired nearly as much spirited debate as religion, politics and the meaning of life, at least when it comes to the destruction of devices containing digital data.

Shredding is a recognized and accepted method to physically destroy data storage media and devices; but, the question becomes just how much shredding is enough.

SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

The generic term “sanitization” is applied to different methods of eliminating data from digital media and hard drives. Sanitization is defined in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-88, “Guidelines for Media Sanitization,” as “the general process of removing data from storage media, such that there is reasonable assurance that the data may not be easily retrieved and reconstructed.” (NIST Special Publication 800-88 is available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-88/NISTSP800-88_rev1.pdf.)

Methods of sanitization include:

Clearing data on a hard disk involves overwriting them with other characters. This process results in a physically functioning drive that can be re-used.

Purging of the hard drive would include degaussing, which would remove all data, including data in the “service area” of the drive. A degaussed drive appears physically intact but is no longer functional and void of data. Degaussed drives, therefore, cannot be re-used.

Physical destruction of the hard disk will make that drive inoperable by compromising the physical structure of the storage media. Methods of physical destruction include disintegration, pulverization, shredding and incineration. All of these methods will make the data a hard drive contains nearly impossible to recover.

NIST Special Publication 800-88 does provide for shredding of hard drives as an acceptable method of physical destruction but does not indicate a minimum particle size. This standard also provides the following definitions of the above methodologies:

Disintegration is “a physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of separating into component parts.”

Pulverization is “a physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of grinding to a powder or dust.”

Shredding is “a method of sanitizing media; the act of cutting or tearing into small pieces.”

Incineration is “a physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of burning completely to ashes.”

via Does Size Really Matter? – Storage & Destruction Business.