Disk Disposal (https://phas.ubc.ca/disk-disposal)
Hard Disk Disposal
If you are discarding a disk or a computer with a disk installed, you must take measures to ensure any personal and/or confidential information on the disk is unreadable.
1. Writable Disks
If the disk is writable -- completely overwriting the disk one or more times should suffice.
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#> dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=1M on a UNIX like system will write zeros to the entire disk.
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Darik's Boot And Nuke (http://www.dban.org/) - DBAN is a self-contained boot disk that automatically deletes the contents of any hard disk that it can detect.
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ATA Secure Erase (https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase) function that's included in the firmware of most drives these days is available with the hdparm tool (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/hdparm) (credit Randy Goldenberg,UBC-IT for this tip)
2. Non-Writable Disks
If the disk is non-writable then the disk may be effectively destroyed physically via a hydraulic press ("taco-chip" process). See the images below for the result of this process.
"Taco-Chip" Process Details
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$2 per standard size hard disk.
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Submit the disk without any frames, slides, or carriers attached. Disks with additional parts attached will not be accepted.
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Deliver disks to the PHAS machine shop in the Hennings Building Room 215-G (on the ground floor).
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Include a completed, hardcopy JV with the disks.
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The disks will be securely stored prior to destruction. The PHAS machine shop will send the destroyed disks for standard E-Waste processing unless instructed otherwise when the disks are dropped off.
diskDestruction_600x450_01.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_01.jpg))
diskDestruction_600x450_02.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_02.jpg))
diskDestruction_600x450_03.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_03.jpg))
diskDestruction_600x450_04.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_04.jpg))
diskDestruction_600x450_05.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_05.jpg))
diskDestruction_06s.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_06.jpg))
diskDestruction_07s.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_07.jpg))
(https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_08.jpg)diskDestruction_08s.jpg (high-res version (https://phas.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/shared/it-service-catalogue/diskDestruction/diskDestruction_3264x2448_08.jpg))
3. Other Options
If the taco chip process is not sufficient for your purposes then we recommend you consider one of these alternatives...
- The BC provincial government now provides a shredding facility (http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/bc-bid-resources/goods-and-services-catalogue/secure-electronic-media-destruction) to which you can send wirtable media (disks, phones, etc) for destruction. Their web site lists a charge of $6/drive.
- Electronic Recycling Association (https://www.era.ca/computer-recycling-data-security/) offers disk destruction (both on-site and off-site) in addtion to recycling all types of computer equipment.
- Iron Mountain (http://www.ironmountain.ca/en/Services/Secure-Shredding/Secure-Media-Destruction.aspx) is a commerical company that offers disk destruction services. They are used extensively on campus for paper shredding.