
In 1996, Peter Gutmann presented a paper on how to erase data on Modified Frequency Modulation (MFM) and run-length limited (RLL) magnetic storage - the latter first used on the IBM 3370, which was released in 1979. Listen to Gutmann: Stop performing 35-pass writes

Data recovery is basically impossible in cases where the drive data is encrypted.

This is not always possible, and - depending on your level of precaution - you may want to wipe the drives before handing them off to a third party for destruction. From a data security standpoint, destroying hard drives is preferable to wiping them.These methods may have had some utility 20 years ago, but are not valid for newer drive formats.īefore moving forward, there are a few considerations to be mindful of in this inquiry. Learn about disk wiping for modern platter hard drives, and securing data on solid-state drives.ĭecommissioning systems for disposal or resale requires the secure deletion of data originally stored on the drives however, the process of doing this is often based more in superstition than in science. Strongly held opinions about the proper method to wipe data from hard drives reflect bygone eras. Disk wiping and data forensics: Separating myth from science
