Dave Wade wrote on 11/3/2024 1:15 AM:
[snip]
It is said that the NSF can recover the data from a disk after a single wipe,
but I am sure no individual can, well not at a cost that would make it worth
while.
I once worked at a shop which got some used 3350s for free, because
the security classification level there (*) was the same or higher
than where the disks were coming from. Otherwise, the disposal process
for those de-commissioned 3350s involved, at a minimum, the following
steps, as I recall hearing:
1. Run a program (ICKDSF-like) which overwrote the data multiple times.
2. Sand the oxide off the disks.
3. Grind up the aluminum platters.
This was dictated by an agency who very likely knew what _they_ could
recover.
(*) This was a shop where "Secret" or "Top Secret" clearances would
not get you in the door.
In the 2400 tape reel days, someone purportedly had a program which
could recover data back to at least gen-2 from an overwritten reel
tape. It may have required special hardware, I just don't remember
that part. It would have been 40-45+ years ago.
/Leonard
"Only the paranoid survive."
"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me."
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