Systems Security Certified Practitioner – SSCP – Question0034

Which of the following is the most reliable, secure means of removing data from magnetic storage media such as a magnetic tape, or a cassette?

A.
Degaussing
B. Parity Bit Manipulation
C. Zeroization
D. Buffer overflow

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A “Degausser (Otherwise known as a Bulk Eraser) has the main function of reducing to near zero the magnetic flux stored in the magnetized medium. Flux density is measured in Gauss or Tesla. The operation is speedier than overwriting and done in one short operation. This is achieved by subjecting the subject in bulk to a series of fields of alternating polarity and gradually decreasing strength.
The following answers are incorrect:Parity Bit Manipulation. Parity has to do with disk lerror detection, not data removal. A bit or series of bits appended to a character or block of characters to ensure that the information received is the same as the infromation that was sent.
Zeroization. Zeroization involves overwrting data to sanitize it. It is time-consuming and not foolproof. The potential of restoration of data does exist with this method. Buffer overflow. This is a detractor. Although many Operating Systems use a disk buffer to temporarily hold data read from disk, its primary purpose has no connection to data removal. An overflow goes outside the constraints defined for the buffer and is a method used by an attacker to attempt access to a system.
The following reference(s) were/was used to create this question:
Shon Harris AIO v3. pg 908 Reference: What is degaussing.