Securely delete files...

[Robert J. Hansen]

David Shaw wrote:
> The notable difference is that in the new regulations, you cannot use
> any overwrite method to sanitize a disk.  The only way to sanitize is
> to degauss the drive or physically destroy the thing.

If anyone on the list is an EE or a physics geek looking for a good
paper, it might be interesting to explore using the Curie Point as a
data erasure technique.  For a lot of the exotic magnetic materials used
in modern hard drives, the Curie Point is pretty remarkably low -- it
might be possible to put a drive in a toaster oven, raise the
temperature to the Curie Point, take it out, let the drive cool, and
have the platter surfaces be randomized.

I've been intending to do this one for a couple of years now, but every
time I get around to looking into it I always find something else to
spend money on besides hard drives to destroy...