ISC 2 Credentials CISSP Question # 8 Topic 1 Discussion

Multi-pass wipes are the most secure method of data sanitization that would provide the most money from the vendor in the hard drive reuse program. Data sanitization is the process of removing or destroying the data from a storage device, such as a hard drive, to prevent the unauthorized or accidental recovery or disclosure of the data. Data sanitization can be performed by different methods, such as pinning, single-pass wipe, degaussing, or multi-pass wipe. Multi-pass wipes are the method of data sanitization that overwrite the data on the storage device multiple times, using different patterns or algorithms, to make the data unrecoverable or unreadable. Multi-pass wipes can provide the following benefits for the company that is enrolled in the hard drive reuse program:

They can provide the most secure means of preventing unauthorized data loss, as the multi-pass wipes can ensure that the data on the hard drive is completely erased and cannot be recovered by any software or hardware tools, even by forensic experts or advanced techniques.

They can also provide the most money from the vendor, as the multi-pass wipes can preserve the functionality and operability of the hard drive, unlike other methods, such as pinning or degaussing, that physically damage or destroy the hard drive, and therefore, the vendor would pay more money for the functioning hard drive than the non-functioning hard drive. References: CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Chapter 7: Security Operations, Section: Media Management, pp. 789-790.