How to Securely Dispose of an SSD
How to Securely Dispose of an SSD
Solid-state drives (SSDs) have long established themselves as the gold standard in hard drives. Fast, dependable and immune to the wear and tear that plagued older HDDs, storing your information on an SSD means that you don’t run the risk of one day losing access to that information.
Read on for how to securely dispose of an SSD
Don’t Use the Same Methods as for Traditional HDDs
There are many tried-and-true methods for secure data destruction when it comes to mechanical HDDs, but not all these will work for SSDs. There is nothing magnetic going on in an SSD, and random physical damage will not brick an SSD in the same way it would an HDD (there are too many chips, and it’s too easy to miss them).
Use an Encryption Key (and then Lose It)
Software like BitLocker (for Windows) or File Vault (for Mac OS) can be used to encrypt the full volume. Make sure nobody – including yourself – has the decryption key, and this makes data recovery a lot more difficult and in some cases impossible. To be extra sure, you can format the drive using a drive erasure software after encryption.
Contact the Manufacturer or Check Their Website
When it comes to secure IT recycling, one of the best assets you have is the original manufacturers. SSD manufacturers will often have the tools to facilitate secure disposal of their products. You many find erasing/reformatting tools that will guarantee your data is unrecoverable.
Samsung : https://www.samsungmagician.com/
Other manufacturers tools can be found easily on google
Physically Shred the SSD
The most surefire and 100% irreversible method of ensuring your data can never again be accessed, putting your SSD through a shredder is the last word in ITAD. It’s also the most expensive method, however, so it’s a question of how much you’re willing to pay to keep your data secure.
Shredding IT assets requires a specialised shredder, so trying to use an old office paper shredder isn’t going to cut it. Industrial SSD shredders start in the thousands, so this is really only an option for large-scale operations committed to data protection (like those bound by the GDPR). You also need to make sure that the shred width is narrow enough to get all of those chips – a shred width of no greater than half an inch is recommended.
Conclusion
Whether you’re involved in WEEE recycling or are simply trying to abide by the rules of the GDPR, secure IT recycling is something that’s important to a lot of businesses (and individuals), and it’s important that it’s done safely and securely. If you have an SSD (or SSDs) that need to be securely disposed of, consider your options carefully and go down the road that’s right for you. Hopefully now you have more of an idea of how to securely dispose of an SSD
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