Completely destroying data and making it impossible to ever recover isn’t easy. Even drilling through your SSD’s PCB might not do it if you miss the memory chips themselves. To ensure you completely remove any chance of your data being recovered, even by professionals, you need to make sure the destruction is complete, and there are a few ways to do it.
If you’ve seen the recent story of SATA SSDs that were drilled through by an IT worker, you might have spotted the problem: They didn’t drill through the actual drive. Since the SSD in question was a SATA drive with a small PCB inside the larger 2.5-inch case, they missed the memory chips and the PCB itself, leaving the entire drive intact, even with a drilled hole through the casing.
When dealing with sensitive data, you need to ensure you completely destroy the data– or make it impossible to recover through any means. Here are a few ways you can do that.
Note: The following methods will completely erase your data and make it so you can never recover it. If it’s important to you, make a backup of that data and store it somewhere safe. Do not proceed before taking due caution.
Secure Erase and Overwrite
The best software method for destroying data on an SSD is to securely erase it. This will overwrite the drive’s NAND Flash with zeros, effectively destroying the data. If you’re using a Biwin SSD, you can download and use Biwin Intelligence for free to complete this effectively and swiftly. Third party options exist for other SSDs (for example, Parted Magic is a non-affiliated option which works on a range of SSDs).
Alternatively, most motherboards have a built-in secure erase function. Navigate to your BIOS and locate it, often within the “Tools” section.
It is possible that due to uneven drive wear, some remnants of your data will remain after a secure erase. If you want to make doubly-sure it’s definitely gone, completely fill the drive with dummy data to overwrite any remaining data, then run a secure erase again.
Each secure erase pass does add wear to the NAND flash cells, though, so if you’re planning to re-use or sell on the SSD, limit the number of secure erase passes as much as possible to prevent undue wear.
After securely erasing your drive, you can check its condition and lifespan with SSD monitoring tools. Learn more about how to check SSD health easily.
Physically Destroy the Drive
If you don’t plan to pass the drive on to someone else and you want to ensure no one can even attempt a recovery of your data, then physically destroying the NAND flash cells is the ultimate method. This is preferred by government organizations and is often reserved for the most sensitive data.
Most importantly, you destroy the memory chips themselves as they retain the data. You can achieve this through a few methods, or a combination of them all:
- Open the drive and use a hammer to smash each of the NAND flash chips. Make sure they are pounded into pieces and there’s simply no way your data can be recovered.
- Put the drive into a commercial electronics shredder. To meet NSA standards for shredding, the drive must be reduced to pieces no larger than 2mm edge length.
- Smelt the drive in a licensed furnace that can reach a rated temperature of 1,600 degrees.
Don’t Forget the Backups
Destroying data isn’t complicated, but if you want to do it, it needs to be done properly. If you want to remove the complete digital footprint of some specific data, be aware you may have backups.The back-up may be local, and/or in the cloud, so consider whether you may need to destroy other storage mediums, or online cloud backups to ensure the specific data is truly gone.
Reusing an SSD After Secure Erase
Not every SSD needs to be physically destroyed. If you’re securely erasing a drive because you’re reinstalling Windows, repurposing it for another system, or preparing it for resale, a secure erase is often all that’s required. Biwin Intelligence includes a built-in secure erase tool, making it easy to wipe a compatible drive before putting it back into service. Just remember that once the process is complete, your data cannot be recovered, so always verify your backups before you begin.
