CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501) — Question 27

A dumpster diver recovers several hard drives from a company and is able to obtain confidential data from one of the hard drives. The company then discovers its information is posted online. Which of the following methods would have MOST likely prevented the data from being exposed?

Answer options

• A. Removing the hard drive from its enclosure
• B. Using software to repeatedly rewrite over the disk space
• C. Using Blowfish encryption on the hard drives
• D. Using magnetic fields to erase the data

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Using magnetic fields to erase data is a method known as degaussing, which effectively disrupts the magnetic fields on the hard drive, rendering the data unrecoverable. The other options, while they may have some merit, do not guarantee that the data is irretrievable in the same manner as degaussing, especially if encryption or software overwriting is improperly executed.