| Author |
Destroying Old Media
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| Yoann Roman 2006-10-20, 7:13 pm |
| Perhaps an odd question... We've found a set of really old DAT and DDS
backup tapes that we have neither the backup software nor the drives to
read/write. However, labels indicate these may contain sensitive data.
How would I go about destroying these w/o investment or illegal actions?
Thanks,
--
Yoann Roman
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| Yoann Roman wrote:
> Perhaps an odd question... We've found a set of really old DAT and DDS
> backup tapes that we have neither the backup software nor the drives to
> read/write. However, labels indicate these may contain sensitive data.
>
> How would I go about destroying these w/o investment or illegal actions?
>
> Thanks,
>
Bulk tape eraser...the one used for erasing VCR tapes.
Then hammer the tape into submission with a big hammer.
But don't put the smashed tape into the recycle box that says
"Super Secret information". Set it on fire instead.
Make it like "employee of the month", but instead of the prime
parking space, the winner gets to use the big hammer to smash
a tape with a picture of the boss taped to it.
mike
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| Faeandar 2006-10-20, 7:13 pm |
| On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:26:21 GMT, "Yoann Roman"
<yoann@cc.spam-bypass.gatech.edu> wrote:
>Perhaps an odd question... We've found a set of really old DAT and DDS
>backup tapes that we have neither the backup software nor the drives to
>read/write. However, labels indicate these may contain sensitive data.
>
>How would I go about destroying these w/o investment or illegal actions?
>
>Thanks,
Beach bonfire?
~F
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| robertwessel2@yahoo.com 2006-10-21, 7:13 am |
|
Yoann Roman wrote:
> Perhaps an odd question... We've found a set of really old DAT and DDS
> backup tapes that we have neither the backup software nor the drives to
> read/write. However, labels indicate these may contain sensitive data.
>
> How would I go about destroying these w/o investment or illegal actions?
Burn 'em. Don't breath the fumes.
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| Yoann Roman 2006-10-23, 7:12 pm |
| > Yoann Roman wrote:
>
> Burn 'em. Don't breath the fumes.
Not quite sure I've got the environment to safely burn these... Plus, I'd
feel bad releasing semi-toxic fumes into the environment :-P.
--
Yoann Roman
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| Paul Rubin 2006-10-23, 7:12 pm |
| "Yoann Roman" <yoann@cc.spam-bypass.gatech.edu> writes:
>
> Not quite sure I've got the environment to safely burn these... Plus, I'd
> feel bad releasing semi-toxic fumes into the environment :-P.
I don't recommend it either. I tried burning a floppy disc once (just
the magnetic sheet inside, not the outer envelope). It was pretty
disgusting. They don't shred very well either. Maybe there are
places that can incinerate them safely. Bulk magnetic erasure is
probably the best approach to get rid of something not-super-sensitive
that's already been recorded. I don't know, though, whether consumer
equipment such as video tape demagnetizers make strong enough magnetic
fields to erase a data tape.
Those writing new tapes should certainly consider using encryption
rather than writing sensitive data directly to the tape.
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| Faeandar 2006-10-24, 1:13 am |
| On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:52:34 GMT, "Yoann Roman"
<yoann@cc.spam-bypass.gatech.edu> wrote:
>
>Not quite sure I've got the environment to safely burn these... Plus, I'd
>feel bad releasing semi-toxic fumes into the environment :-P.
Soak them in acid. It's actually not too hard to get industrial grade
sulfuric or phosphoric acid, ask you're local high school where they
get theirs.
~F
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| Paul Rubin 2006-10-24, 1:13 am |
| Faeandar <mr_castalot@yahoo.com> writes:
> Soak them in acid. It's actually not too hard to get industrial grade
> sulfuric or phosphoric acid, ask you're local high school where they
> get theirs.
Then you've still got toxic waste afterwards.
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| Faeandar 2006-10-24, 1:13 am |
| On 23 Oct 2006 19:05:54 -0700, Paul Rubin
<http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote:
>Faeandar <mr_castalot@yahoo.com> writes:
>
>Then you've still got toxic waste afterwards.
The tapes themselves are toxic waste, so it's a no-win situation.
Pick your poison and run with it.
~F
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| Maxim S. Shatskih 2006-10-24, 7:13 am |
| > Soak them in acid. It's actually not too hard to get industrial grade
> sulfuric or phosphoric acid, ask you're local high school where they
> get theirs.
I don't think acid will do anything with polyester base layer of the tape. So,
burning with excess of oxygen (using an acetylene welding device, for instance)
is probably the only chance.
I have forgotten whether polyester (polyethylenethereftalate IIRC) includes
nitrogen in it. Probably not. Then you have CO2 + H2O is the burning results -
ecologically clean.
--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com
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| cpreston 2006-10-24, 7:12 pm |
|
Let me answer this again, as I don't think the last one showed up in the right place.
IMHO, tape shredding is your only real answer.
You should use a commercial tape shredding solution. They're availalbe from your offsite vaulting vendor (e.g. Iron Mountain). They will give you a certificate of destruction and shred the entire tape, cartridge and all.
You can place about 10 tapes across the input to a consumer grade shredder, and watch it run for 10 minutes as it pulls the tapes out and chews the up. I'd love to watch that. That won't work for a lot of tapes, though, as the consumer grade shredder's pr
obably not made to run for hours on end continuously. (I'd still want to watch.)
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| cpreston 2006-10-24, 7:12 pm |
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Don't know how this idea escaped my mind, but the other thing is to buy a commerical degausser. Make sure they one you buy offers a field strong enough to erase the tapes you are erasing. If they're degaussed properly, you can throw them out with the re
st of the hazardous materials. (You're not supposed to just throw them away.)
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| Yoann Roman 2006-10-30, 7:16 pm |
| >>> Soak them in acid. It's actually not too hard to get industrial
>
> The tapes themselves are toxic waste, so it's a no-win situation.
> Pick your poison and run with it.
I found an inexpensive data destruction company locally, and that route
seems the safest & most ecologically-sound.
Thanks for the suggestions, though.
--
Yoann Roman
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| Paul Rubin 2006-10-30, 7:16 pm |
| "Yoann Roman" <yoann@cc.spam-bypass.gatech.edu> writes:
>
> I found an inexpensive data destruction company locally, and that route
> seems the safest & most ecologically-sound.
Well, how do you know what they're REALLY doing with the data?
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| Faeandar 2006-10-30, 7:16 pm |
| On 30 Oct 2006 11:31:52 -0800, Paul Rubin
<http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote:
>"Yoann Roman" <yoann@cc.spam-bypass.gatech.edu> writes:
>
>Well, how do you know what they're REALLY doing with the data?
You could always make a lunch date out of it and watch them do it. Or
even have them let you do it; that's probably more fun.
~F
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| Paul Rubin 2006-10-30, 7:16 pm |
| Faeandar <mr_castalot@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> You could always make a lunch date out of it and watch them do it. Or
> even have them let you do it; that's probably more fun.
I wonder if that's possible. Where I worked we used a recycling
service to get rid of confidential paper documents. They drove the
paper off in a fairly normal truck and supposedly shredded it when it
got where it was going. For a somewhat higher charge they would send
a "mobile shredding unit", a special truck that had the shredder right
on board, so they would shred your stuff in front of you and you would
be certain that it was gone.
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| Yoann Roman 2006-10-30, 7:16 pm |
| >>> Well, how do you know what they're REALLY doing with the data?
>
> I wonder if that's possible. Where I worked we used a recycling
> service to get rid of confidential paper documents. They drove the
> paper off in a fairly normal truck and supposedly shredded it when it
> got where it was going. For a somewhat higher charge they would send
> a "mobile shredding unit", a special truck that had the shredder right
> on board, so they would shred your stuff in front of you and you would
> be certain that it was gone.
I'm actually dropping it off at their facility. I may be able to watch them
do it, but I doubt they'll let me shred them myself. That would probably
void their security certifications.
For a more formal answer, check out their FAQ:
http://www.peachtreeshredding.com/faqs.asp
For the age and kind of data these tapes have, that satisfies my needs. Of
course, I'm not in the government, defense, healthcare, or finance industry,
so my requirements are not very high.
--
Yoann Roman
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