How to — and How to NOT — Destroy SSDs at End-of-Life - SEM Shred (2024)
Since the first days of chat message boards and social media profiles, we’ve all heard the saying, “don’t put all of your information online because it never truly goes away.” The same can be said for end-of-life data and information on solid state drives (SSDs): once information is on there, it’s next to impossible to fully remove. Aside from implementing a secure, in-house destruction plan, there are numerous methods we do not recommend using. Let’s break some of those down.
Degaussing
A major misconception when it comes to data destruction is that destruction methods for hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) are interchangeable. We hate to burst your bubble but…that’s false! Degaussing is simply not an option for the destruction of end-of-life data on SSDs. Solid state drives and optical media do not require it as part of the destruction process because they do not have an inner magnetic, rotational platter that can be scrambled like HDDs do.
However, crushing and/or shredding is recommended. Since SSDs can store vast amounts of information on such small chips, even tiny, intact fragments can hold a plethora of sensitive or private data. This means that every single SSD chip must be properly destroyed and done so in a machine specifically designed to destroy solid state media and produce particles small enough to ensure that no data can be retrieved.
Recycling and/or Throwing Away
While we always support taking the greener route, trying to recycle your end-of-life drives cannot be done securely and is not recommended. Unfortunately, the majority of our waste and recycling ends up in landfills and dumpsters which are literal gold mines for hackers and thieves.
While methods such as cryptographic erasure and data erasure would allow the drive to be used again, it is not a secure and foolproof destruction. Information, whether encrypted or unencrypted, can still linger behind on the drive and be accessed, even if it has previously been deleted or overwritten.
ITAD
ITADs, or information technology asset disposition companies, are third-party vendors that sanitize and destroy end-of-life data and drives. While the appeal of these types of companies can be quite attractive, we at SEM do not recommend utilizing these types of companies when disposing of your end-of-life data. While there are some reputable ITAD and data sanitization companies out there, the risk may not be worth the convenience. Security risks can be unpredictable and potentially catastrophic as it can be far too easy for ITAD vendors to misuse, mishandle, and misplace drives when in transportation, destruction, or disposal. It has also been reported that some vendors sell end-of-life devices and their sensitive information to online third parties.
Other (Un)Worthy Methods
Running over SSDs with your car
Roasting your SSDs over a fire
Giving your SSDs a swimming lesson
Physical destruction with a blunt object
By physically destroying SSDs with an appropriate shredder or disintegrator, companies are choosing the most secure method of data destruction as this is the only way to be certain that the end-of-life data has been properly destroyed. SEM SSD crushers are ideal for lower volume data center destruction of solid state media, while our shredders are recommended for higher volume destruction. SEM SSD disintegrators provide the most complete chip destruction and the highest level of security, destroying SSDs and chips to the NSA’s mandated 2mm final particle.
Solid state drives (SSDs) and optical media cannot be degaussed
degaussed
A degausser is a device that can generate a magnetic field for degaussing magnetic storage media. The magnetic field needed for degaussing magnetic data storage media is a powerful one that normal magnets cannot easily achieve and maintain.
It is very important to thoroughly destroy SSDs with a micro-shredder as there is no other viable option to guarantee data destruction. BEWARE… SSDs and their IC chips are not fully destroyed by standard hard drive shredders, or worse yet, they can slip through the gaps in the shredder touched!
SSDs pose a unique challenge regarding data destruction because they store data in flash chips and not magnetic media like HDDs do. To completely and permanently delete the data stored in a solid-state drive, the best option is to destroy the drive itself physically. You can do this by using shredders or incinerators.
Using Encryption to Erase an SSD. By using whole disk encryption on an SSD, all of the data on the drive will become unreadable without the decryption key. By formatting the drive and removing the encryption key, the SSD can be securely disposed of without the risk of data remaining on the drive.
In the IT industry, the lifespan of an SSD is in TBW. Mostly the service life of an SSD is 256 TBW. This is the basic warranty period after which the memory cells start degrading. The chances of drive failure and data loss increase after exceeding the TBW value.
Slices your entire hard drive into small pieces with 40,000 lbs.of destructive force. The process destroys the drive platters, mechanisms, and electronic components, rendering the data unrecoverable.
This process is called a program/erase cycle, or P/E cycle for short. Importantly, each SSD has a limited number of P/E cycles. Each P/E cycle gradually degrades the memory of an SSD's cells until they eventually become worn down. At this point, you will no longer be able to rely on the SSD to store information.
Conclusion. Trim and Active Garbage Collection are useful tools that can benefit the speed, function, and longevity of your SSD. But if your operating system doesn't support Trim, it's not a disaster. All Crucial SSDs are designed and tested assuming that they will be used without Trim.
The most common form of SSD misuse is wearing out a drive because it wasn't properly matched to the workload. For example, SSDs with lower endurance and performance ranges are meant for object storage and not for use as a cache drive with a high volume of read/write actions.
You can repair SSD manually or use EaseUS Partition Master - an SSD repair tool to help you fix corrupted SSD. If all these methods don't work out well, contact your SSD manufacturer and see if they have any better solutions for you.
No, magnets will not damage solid-state drives. However, changes in magnetic fields might cause data loss under certain circ*mstances. Strong magnetic fields can destroy data on hard disk drives (HDDs) and data tapes, for a simple reason: Those devices use magnetism to store data.
No, degaussing doesn't work on SSDs. Degaussing uses a magnetic field to wipe data on a magnetic platter of hard disks. However, SSDs store data on a series of NAND chips that are not affected by a degausser.
Because most software has a more difficult time finding all the information it needs for a comprehensive wipe, erasing an SSD can be more sensitive. If you're using older software with an aging SSD, the erase procedures can start to cause damage.
Creating regular backups of your external drive data is essential for data recovery in case of loss, damage, or compromise: Secure Storage: Store backups in a different location, such as cloud storage or another external drive, for added protection.
Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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