
In other cases, “ file shredding” may overwrite the file, but it’s unclear whether the overwriting process has been successful.

The data is still on the machine, though not easily available to the operating system or the apps that created it.

Unlike data sanitization, data destruction does not include verification. What Data Destruction is Not Data Destruction is Not the Same as Data Sanitization This is where data sanitization and data erasure (a form of data sanitization) come in. TechTarget defines data destruction as “the process of destroying data stored on tapes, hard disks and other forms of electronic media so that it is completely unreadable and cannot be accessed or used for unauthorized purposes.”īut to confirm that data is truly gone, and to comply with most data protection standards, you need more.

Throw in phrases like physical destruction and data erasure, and the simple act of making sure your data is irrecoverable quickly becomes a matter of clarifying terms. However, the term data destruction is often used interchangeably with data sanitization, and it can be difficult to determine which definition is correct. Data destruction has been defined in a variety of ways by technical publications and industry leaders.
