dod 5220.22-m (secure wipe standard)
Definition
This is a data destruction method originally published by the U.S. Department of Defense that specifies how to permanently erase sensitive information from hard drives and storage devices. The process works by overwriting every bit of data on a drive multiple times with random patterns of ones and zeros, making the original data virtually impossible to recover. Many businesses and IT professionals use this standard as a benchmark for securely wiping devices before selling, donating, or disposing of old equipment.
Example
When your company retires its old laptops, an IT vendor might advertise that they use DoD 5220.22-M wiping to ensure that your customer records and financial data cannot be retrieved by anyone who later gets their hands on those machines.
Watch Out
Simply deleting files or reformatting a hard drive does NOT meet this standard and leaves your sensitive business data recoverable by anyone with basic recovery software.
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This definition is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with a licensed attorney for legal guidance.