Technical data

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Memory Clearing, Sanitization and/or Removal Procedures
Instrument Sanitization Procedures
Instrument Sanitization Procedures
Removable Hard Drive Data Destruction
Several commercially available software programs exist to completely destroy all data on a data storage
device such as the removable hard drive. DoD 5220.22-M is a software based data sanitization method for
total data destruction. The DoD 5220.22-M sanitization method was originally defined by the U.S. National
Industrial Security Program (NISP) in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM).
The process involves overwriting existing information on the hard drive (or other data storage device).
Typically, this means writing a 0 (zero) to every addressable location on the device, verifying the write, writing
a 1 (one) to every addressable location and verifying the write, and then writing a random character (in some
cases writing a 97) to every addressable location and verifying the write. Using a DoD 5220.22-M sanitization
(or a variant) prevents all software and hardware based data recovery methods from obtaining information
from the SSD.The instrument’s disk drive is divided at the factory into three visible partitions, labeled C:, D:
and E:, plus a fourth hidden partition.
Hard Drive Removal
Because it is virtually impossible to completely and selectively erase all user data on a hard drive without
also destroying the operating system, the best method for maintaining security when the controller must be
removed from a secure area is to remove or replace the hard drive.