Patent · US Expired

Methods of sanitizing a flash-based data storage device

US7089350B2 · kind B2 · utility

14Cited by
8References
4Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 1, 2005
Grant dateAug 8, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 1, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2221/2143
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A data storage device includes one or more non-volatile, blockwise erasable data storage media and a mechanism for sanitizing the media in response to a single external stimulus or in response to a predetermined physical or logical condition. Optionally, only part of the media is sanitized, at a granularity finer than the blocks of the medium. Setting a flag in an auxiliary nonvolatile memory enables an interrupted sanitize to be detected and restarted. Optionally, a “death certificate” verifying the sanitizing is issued. Preferably, the media are configured in a manner that allows atomic operations of the sanitizing to be effected in parallel.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.