Re: Hard Drive scrub

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Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2005 11:26:01 -0400

"nemo_outis" <abc@xyz.com> wrote in message
news:Xns967878AC1CCAEabcxyzcom@127.0.0.1...
> "someone2" <someone@somewhere.nowhere> wrote in
> news:mjDse.50345$iU.44518@lakeread05:
>
>>
>> "nemo_outis" <abc@xyz.com> wrote in message
>> news:Xns96784A18143F3abcxyzcom@127.0.0.1...
>>> "---" <no@spam.com> wrote in news:kXtse.1721605$6l.1632425@pd7tw2no:
>>>
>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>>> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>>>>
>>>> I've scrubed one of my hard drives using an application that does
>>>> multiple wipes followed by a final writing of all zeros to every
>>>> sector of the hard drive.
>>>>
>>>> How can I verify that the hard drive has truely been scrubed before
>>>> I send it offiste?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you
>>>
>>> Use any of the file-recovery tools, especially the forensic ones,
>>> such as Encase, etc.
>>>
>>> This will confirm *software* unrecoverability - if someone is willing
>>> to spend serious bucks, hardware recovery may still be possible.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>
>> Not true.
>> After a 3 times overwrite virtually nothing is recoverable by any
>> professional
>> After a 30 times over write nothing is recoverable.
>>
>> If someone has the capability to recover anything of use after 7 times
>> over write I want to speak to them. I will refer DR jobs to them!
>>
>> Re the OP and his ?. Winhex or similar and examine some random
>> sectors for text or data.
>
>
> The limits of the possible in data recovery are NOT set by the commercial
> recovery houses.
>
> The US DoD recommends *destruction* of any HD that is to pass outside the
> agency, EVEN for those used just for general office work, let alone those
> those that once contained classified data (see, for instance, DoD
> Directive 8500.1, October 2002. The ancient DoD 5220.22-M with its
> overwrite specs was rescinded as obsolete long ago!).
>
> Even degaussing is viewed askance (since only the top-end units can
> handle modern high-coercivity drives, and, even then, reliability - 80+
> dB suppression - is spotty). Software methods, such as overwriting, just
> don't cut it against a serious adversary (even ignoring, for the moment,
> that things such as HD buffers - some bigger than 8 megs - may result in
> 7 overwrites really only resulting in one!).
>
> Yes, a disk that has been overwritten many times times will not be
> recoverable by an ordinary recovery shop, but they do not use methods
> such as second-harmonic magnetoresistive microscopy and newer variants
> (since they would never be economically viable See, for instance,
> http://www.boulder.nist.gov). Ordinary users need not worry about such
> recovery methods, but they are well within the capabilities of TLAs and
> some other labs (which is why I used "may" in my post).
>
> If a HD contains, or has ever contained, sensitive data it should be
> destroyed, not erased, when one is finished with it. Since new drives
> cost less than $1/gig these days, anything else is madness.
>
> Regards,

"second-harmonic magnetoresistive microscopy "
Please provide a direct link to factual information.

I contacted NIST, a few forensics companies, Ontrack and some other DR
companies in 2004.
All stated at that time DR via microscopy was not feasible.

It's been a great long standing rumor, but I cannot find any factual
information to back the rumor.

If you have a factual and credible source please post the information.

re some of your other postings on this topic - you may have no need or
interest in a 4 Gb hdd (let alone a 250Mb) - but there are individuals and
groups that will never have
access to any computer. Why are we trashing something of value when it could
be re used and have value to someone else?

Many home computer users never have anything of value on their computers
(data wise) and how many dumpster divers would spend a week trying to find
anything of value on
a discarded computer.

Once again, my challenge stands (as I will remarket the services of a DR
company with the capability) - if I re write a hdd to the DoD std -
demonstrate recovery of any data of relevance!

btw, before reposting, if I had national secrets or financial information
for 1,0000,0000 individuals on a hdd I would physically destroy it too.
The solution is simple, remove the hdd platters and use them for a
windchime!

>

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