{
  "slug": "purge-sanitization",
  "term": "Purge sanitization",
  "aliases": [
    "Purge sanitization method"
  ],
  "definition": "Purge sanitization uses suitable logical or physical techniques to make target-data recovery infeasible even with current state-of-the-art laboratory techniques while potentially allowing the medium to be reused.",
  "note": "NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2 section 3.1.2 defines an assurance objective, not a synonym for a particular erase command. Cryptographic erase can be a purge technique when its prerequisites are met. Reuse is possible, not guaranteed: a physical purge technique can leave some media inoperable. Degaussing requires a magnetic field suited to the medium's coercivity, does not sanitize flash components (including those in hybrid devices), and is not classified as destroy merely because hardware stops working. [nist-r2]",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [
    {
      "text": "Can provide a higher recovery-resistance objective than clear without necessarily destroying reusable media.",
      "citationIds": [
        "nist-r2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "text": "A technique must be appropriate for the medium and implementation; command acceptance alone does not establish successful purge.",
      "citationIds": [
        "nist-r2"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "data-sanitization",
    "clear-sanitization",
    "destroy-sanitization",
    "cryptographic-erase",
    "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 and 3.2, printed pages 10-16",
      "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"
    }
  ]
}