[rescue] nuking from orbit

[Jeremy Nielson]

I remember reading something about a year, maybe year and a half ago, about
a system the FBI or the NSA had devised, that could grab data from a
magnetic medium, despite protective measures taken.

The example given, was typical paranoid types wipe the disk and write
consecutive zero's over the disk 7-10 times.  And the process could still
glean like 70% of the data afterwards.

Scary, if you ask me.  It seems the best way to prevent data from being
compromised, is to physically mangle the disk, shred it, burn it, and then
make one big magnetic glop out of it.

Even then, we might not be safe.

If I can find the article, I'll post the link.

Jeremy Nielson
jnielson at ihccorp.com

----- Original Message -----
From: Patrick Giagnocavo <patrick at zill.net>
To: <rescue at sunhelp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 1:21 PM
Subject: Re: [rescue] nuking from orbit


> > Ok I have a sparc 5 here that my boss wants to me completely scrub
> >and re-install for a local school system to use as a web server for the
kids
> >to learn on. I cannot find anything on how to "format and re-install" a
sun
> >box. Can anyone give me any pointers, I am required to format this clean
so
> >that no data can escape the destruction and make it's way over to the new
> >system.
>
> Wouldn't a low-level format of the drive take care of this?
>
> Followed by installation of say OpenBSD, which uses a different filesystem
> than Solaris?
>
> I guess if the NSA still wants the data, they can probably get it.  Aside
> from that though you would be safe.  (and if the NSA wanted your data,
they
> would have already gotten it).
>
> Cordially
> --
> Patrick Giagnocavo
> patrick at zill.net
> Web Hosting:  http://www.zill.net/
>
>
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