An IT technician is updating the company's storage media disposition policy to ensure compliance with NIST data security standards across different drive types and physical conditions. Match each data destruction method on the left with its appropriate operational description on the right.
- DegaussingExposes magnetic media to a powerful electromagnetic field, neutralizing magnetic domain alignment and damaging control electronics on magnetic HDDs and tapes.
- Cryptographic EraseDeletes the media encryption key on self-encrypting solid-state drives (SSDs/NVMe), rendering all stored data blocks instantly and permanently unreadable.
- Industrial ShreddingMechanically cuts storage media into minute particles, providing complete physical destruction for non-functional drives or high-security physical records.
- Overwriting (Zero-Fill)Writes continuous patterns of zeroes across all addressable sectors of a functional hard disk drive, allowing the drive to be safely redeployed.
Answer
Degaussing matches exposing magnetic media to electromagnetic fields. Cryptographic Erase matches deleting the media encryption key on self-encrypting SSDs/NVMe drives. Industrial Shredding matches mechanically cutting storage media into minute particles. Overwriting matches writing continuous patterns of zeroes across addressable sectors for safe drive redeployment.
Each data destruction method directly corresponds to its target mechanism: Degaussing disrupts magnetic domain alignment on magnetic drives; Cryptographic Erase destroys internal decryption keys on encrypted flash storage; Industrial Shredding physically pulverizes media; and Overwriting replaces data blocks with zeroes on working drives intended for reuse.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Selecting proper data sanitization and physical disposal methods based on media architecture (magnetic vs. solid-state) and functional state.