Wiping Out Data

[Jeffrey F. Bloss]

NoOp wrote:

> On 03/27/2007 05:56 PM, Jeffrey F. Bloss wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Conspiracy theroies aside, in my experience the "DoD" doesn't wipe
> > sensitive data at all except under very rare circumstances, and even
> > then it's done in bulk with high tech degaussing equipment. Digital
> > media is typically treated the same as paper documents. Shredded,
> > incinerated, dissolved in a suitable liquid, and flushed down special
> > drains where it's "aged" before being ultimately disposed of. All under
> > armed guard of course.
> > 
> > I've even seen really expensive, hermetically sealed crypto hardware
> > "black boxes" that were designed to violently self destruct upon being
> > opened, decommissioned this way just to be on the safe side.
> > 
> > I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you. ;o)
> > 
> > 
> 
> As could I; my past experience was 8 years in US government ciphony. But

Noway! I was an AF 304x0 running mobile ground units for airborne
command posts. Blue Eagle, Silk Purse, Air Force 1... my duty station
was essentially a mobile LOS microwave front side with a mini telephone
company at the back end that could route encrypted voice over civilian
land lines if necessary. Late 70's early 80's technology. I could
whistle into a mic to ring up a WATS operator in fact.

> I have to admit that I'm still getting a handle on linux security, so
> I'm always open to learning all that I can. However, the OP was looking
> for something to wipe his disks for donation & shred was mentioned -

Must have missed that part. I thought this thread was about general
wiping of USB devices. If I wasn't so lazy I'd review. ;)

If that's a fact then common sense says unless they're being donated to
the NSA just about anything that performs a few overwrites is more
than enough. Even if they're just zeroes, your average consumer isn't
savvy enough to even do hard sector examination of a device, let alone
decipher subtle differences in residual magnetics between an
overwritten 1 and an overwritten 0.

> scrub was offered as an alternative. The caveats in the scrub man doc
> offer sufficient warning about it's limitations.
> 
> Personally for a non-government standard user use I like bcwipe for
> linux (non-free). Alternatively I use a blowtorch :-)

I've heard of people using machine shop demagnetizers too. I tried it
on an old drive once and ended up with a brick.  Of course I wasn't
after it with an electron microscope, either...

-- 
     _?_      Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
    (o o)         Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-oOO-(_)--OOo------------------------------[ Groucho Marx ]---
                    http://wrench.homelinux.net/~jeff/

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