Furthermore, both government and independent testing has shown that overwrite and formatting software leaves sections of information behind. Ultimately, both groups determined that the only way to remove all information from a hard drive or tape is to degauss with a degausser that has passed testing by the National Security Agency.
When it comes to erasing a hard drive, only one method—DEGAUSSING—can guarantee the complete elimination of data. Let’s take a look at overwrite and reformat software programs first.
The powerful magnetic field of a degausser permanently removes all magnetic memory from the metallic coatings that held the data within a hard drive. By removing the magnetism, 100% of the data is lost. Crashed drives, bad sectors, Ghost Lists, BIOS, hard drive upgrades, type and compatibility are of no concern to a degausser. In addition, degaussing is fast; hard drives can be erased in as quickly as 2 seconds a piece.
Don’t risk leaving data behind, degauss. Degaussing is the only accepted method for securely erasing hard drives by the National Security Agency and the United States Department of Defense. As such, it is recommended by many other regulatory groups including NIST, GLBA, HIPAA, PCI and more.