Method and apparatus for sanitization of fixed storage devices
US6212600A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 21, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 3, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 21, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2221/2143
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for sanitization of a fixed storage device interfaced to a computer system. The computer system is booted from a removable storage device that holds a bootable disk operating system and program code that is executed within the disk operating system. The fixed storage device is detected. The writeable space of the fixed storage device is then overwritten with a plurality of overwrite layers. Further, a report can be printed listing information about the sanitization process contemporaneously upon the completion of sanitization. In one embodiment, sanitizing is accomplished using a plurality of patterns, each layer having an associated pattern, to ensure that data can not be recovered even by destructive analysis.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.