Langa Letter: The "Dead Drive" Security Loophole

Hard-Core Hard-Drive Solutions
But there's a minority of cases where thorough data wiping won't be enough--cases where a system might contain make-or-break vital business plans, tax records, or other sensitive data that absolutely must not be compromised.

The solution here is hardware, because hard drives are relatively cheap. If the value of the data on your old drive exceeds the cost of buying a new drive, I think it's worthwhile to eat the cost of a new drive. Replace the old drive with a brand-new unused one, and then take steps to ensure that no one can ever use the old drive again.

First, if the drive is still working, data-wipe it if you can. Then (whether working or not) physically destroy the drive. You don't have to go as far as the Department of Defense recommendation of "disintegrate, incinerate, pulverize, shred, or melt." Rather, just pop open the drive case (it's usually just a matter of loosening a few screws and it takes just a couple minutes) and drag the screwdriver tip over the platters. This will render the data on the disk unrecoverable to all but the most expensive and elaborate types of reconstruction, and will prevent all casual hackers, crackers, dishonest repair technicians, hand-me-down users, or even dumpster-diving snoops from doing much of anything with the old drive.

Closing the "dead drive" security loophole takes a little time or money. But the time spent in data-wiping a drive that's changing hands, or the money it takes to replace a drive that's been physically disabled to prevent reuse, can actually be a very smart investment in security.

Does Fred go too far in his recommendations? Not far enough? What do you do to protect sensitive data on your hard drives that are handed down, sent in for repair, or discarded? Have you ever lost data to a hard-drive snoop? Do you or your company follow a set procedure to ensure data security when hard drives are moved or transferred? Join in the discussion!