{
  "slug": "destroy-sanitization",
  "term": "Destroy sanitization",
  "aliases": [
    "Destroy sanitization method"
  ],
  "definition": "Destroy sanitization makes target-data recovery infeasible even with current state-of-the-art laboratory techniques and leaves the medium incapable of storing data again.",
  "note": "NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2 section 3.1.3 requires both recovery resistance and loss of storage usability. A broken enclosure or controller does not show that the data-bearing medium was sanitized. Partial damage, including a drilled hole, can leave recoverable portions; suitable destruction depends on the medium and applicable technique requirements. Degaussing is not an approved destroy technique in the cited revision. [nist-r2]",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [
    {
      "text": "Can address media for which an appropriate logical sanitization technique cannot be applied.",
      "citationIds": [
        "nist-r2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "text": "Precludes reuse of the data-bearing medium, and visible damage alone is not evidence that the required destruction outcome was achieved.",
      "citationIds": [
        "nist-r2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "data-sanitization",
    "clear-sanitization",
    "purge-sanitization",
    "sanitization-verification",
    "sanitization-validation"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-14",
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "nist-r2",
      "title": "NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2 (2025), Guidelines for Media Sanitization, 3.1.2-3.1.3 and 4.5.1, printed pages 10-11 and 24",
      "url": "https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-88r2.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-10-14"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela",
      "title": "Hesela: SSD sanitization: why TRIM and a successful command are not enough",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/ssd-sanitization-trim-evidence/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-14"
    }
  ]
}