An IT technician is preparing to decommission several enterprise magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs) containing sensitive personnel records. To adhere to organizational security policies and maintain regulatory compliance, the disposal process must follow strict data sanitization and chain-of-custody procedures. In what sequence should the technician perform the following decommissioning steps?
- 1Log the drive serial numbers and physical asset tags into the organization's chain-of-custody tracking log.
- 2Execute a logical sanitization pass (purge) using drive-wiping software to overwrite all sectors on the hard drives.
- 3Send the drives through a high-power degausser or physical industrial shredder to permanently destroy the magnetic platters.
- 4Obtain and archive a signed Certificate of Destruction from the disposal vendor for auditing and compliance records.
Answer
The correct sequence begins with logging the drive serial numbers for chain-of-custody tracking, followed by performing a logical sanitization pass, executing physical destruction or degaussing, and finally obtaining and archiving a Certificate of Destruction.
Proper media disposal mandates initializing chain-of-custody documentation first by logging serial numbers. Next, logical sanitization (overwriting) is performed while drives are operational. Physical destruction (degaussing or shredding) permanently renders media unreadable, and finally, obtaining a Certificate of Destruction completes compliance recording.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Lifecycle and Chain of Custody for Hard Drive Disposition