What is degaussing?
Degaussing is a method of permanently, securely deleting data. This deletion process, often called sanitization, uses the power of magnets to delete any form of magnetic digital storage including hard drives, floppy disks or magnetic tape.
How can your hard drive be degaussed?
A far better and more professional way to destroy a hard drive is the Degauss and Destroy method. Degaussing is a fast and efficient way to remove all audio, video and data signals from magnetic storage media such as backup tapes and hard drives. Degaussers come in all shapes and sizes and the most suitable model for your needs will depend on your budget, the volume of drives you have and whether you need a government approved solution.
Once degaussed the media should then be physically destroyed, which will provide tangible evidence that the hard drive has been destroyed. There are a couple of destruction methods available, the first being shredding whereby the hard drive is pulverized into tiny bits by large shredding machine. Whilst very effective, unless you have large volumes of hard drives, this method can be very expensive. In addition, retaining control of your hard drives and your data during this process can prove to be difficult.
Another method is to use a hard drive crusher which bends the hard drive, destroying the platter inside and rendering it useless. Table-top hard drive crushers are available to buy to enable you to complete the entire hard drive destruction process in-house, both quietly and efficiently. One benefit of this method is that you can retain control of your hard drives at all times and provide a secure chain of custody.
The Degauss & Destroy process is a practical, affordable and effective way to destroy a hard drive and whilst not an absolute requirement by the NSA, many security and government organizations now recommend that storage media such as hard drives and back-up tapes are “physically destroyed after degaussing”.
