[clug] Hard disk destruction

[Robert Edwards]

Brendan Jurd wrote:
> Hi CLUGers,
> 
> I have a "few" [1] hard disks that need to be destroyed in such a
> manner as to make data recovery impossible.
> 
> I thought the esteemed members of this list might have some insight
> into this problem, which after all, has a number of potentially
> spectacular solutions =)
> 
> We tried putting a platter in the embers of a backyard fire, which
> succeeded in making the platter glow red.  This looked cool, and *may*
> have ruined the data on the disk, but the disk was not even slightly
> deformed and I didn't really feel like it was a sure thing.
> 
> I'm looking for more of a "nuke the site from orbit" style resolution.
> 
> Currently topping my list of things to try next is a flower pot full
> of Al+Fe3O4 thermite.
> 
> Any other suggestions?
> 
> Cheers,
> BJ
> 
> [1] http://swords.id.au/diskplatters.jpg

If you are trying to do this for entertainment, the thermite solution
looks promising.

If you just want to make sure data recovery is difficult, there are
published standards on how to do this that various Australian Govt.
instrumentalities need to abide by. I don't know how sensitive your
data is, but I would think that there is a standard that covers it.

Otherwise: just erase the disk:
dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/sd[ab...] bs=1024k ...

You could also just re-use the disk(s) by backing up some benign data
to them (some old Debian ISOs etc.). Anybody trying to recover what
was under that is trying really hard and if you are worried about that
then your data is probably fitting into a category that would require
destruction by one of the standards above.

If you have time to dismantle the drive(s), there are some cool magnets
worth recovering... A bit of sandpaper on the disk surfaces will remove
most of the thin layer of rust that stores your data. A belt sander will
do that really quickly.

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.