Comments on: Old Hard Drives Never Die (or Even Fade Away)

By: Brian Wahoff - EPC

Brian Wahoff - EPC — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:46:32 +0000

I find it amazing that these stores continue to appear in the news. We have been selling data destruction services for over 5 years now and while many potential customers are educated to the risks, there are still many in the dark.

Robert Davie: I completely agree that a networked solution is the way to go, and our drive wiping method of choice. It is too easy to misplace a single hard drive and if you do the results can be catastrophic – particularly if in the healthcare, legal or banking industries. We even developed a mobile wiping server that could be brought to a customer’s facility so that the data destruction services could be performed without transporting the equipment off-site.

By: Robert Davie

Robert Davie — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:34:22 +0000

Bill… but of course… I’m involved in this type of thing all day every day. Feel free to contact me at rdavie((at))venderis(((dot)))c0m.

Rgds,
Robert

[Comment edited by Clif to "munge" the email address so that it won't be scraped from the site by spambots]

By: Bill D. Cat

Bill D. Cat — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:08:52 +0000

Wow Mr. Davie, what a great idea! Do you know anyone who sells such software and/or services?

By: Robert Davie - Venderis

Robert Davie - Venderis — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:45:53 +0000

In a large organization like Lockheed, there are most probably several systemic issues with data-destruction policies. First, they probably de-install systems and then wipe them, opening up risk areas such as cannibalization. Secondly, they are manual, decentralized erasure processes, that permit non-technical staff to do the erasures. THE SOLUTION: use a networked data-erasure software to automate and centralize the process.

By: ldm

ldm — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:53:08 +0000

Having worked for a computer manufacturer I can confirm that there’s often material on the drive that shouldn’t be. We found everything from medical records to maintenance manuals for a fighter jet.

Expecting to get a detailed procedure, I asked our tech guys what to do with my old computer drive. Their advice was to use a hammer and smash it to smithereens. Not an elegant solution but it was fun.

By: Bill the Cat

Bill the Cat — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:03:01 +0000

If you look on the ODAA page, (here https://www.dss.mil/GW/ShowBinary/DSS/isp/odaa/odaa_links.html) the clearing and sanititization link directs you to the current version of the ODAA Manual. Follow the link and you will see that you can request the document via email.

By: Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP

Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:12:31 +0000

Sometimes destruction of media can be the bottleneck to good security procedures. Paper media is so easy to destroy with burning or pulping methods. I know of a defense contractor who had to change hard drive destruction methods because the approved burned method became an environmental issue. This caused a backlog until they figured out how to disassemble the hard drives and burn only the vital parts.