SSD Wiping: How to Securely Erase Solid State Drives

Solid state drives (SSDs) are faster and in many ways more efficient than traditional hard drives (HDDs). HDDs utilize a mechanical arm to read and write information, while SSDs use digital signals to write and read data. These two drives are created differently; so it should be no surprise that their data destruction processes are different as well. Degaussing, shredding, and crypto-erasure are all common methods for HDD data destruction; yet these same processes do not work for SSDs.

The structure of a SSD makes many data destruction techniques ineffective. SSDs store data on flash memory chips, unlike its predecessor the hard drive. Data erasure is the best way to clear data from a SSD. Companies like Blancco provide secure data erasure software that overwrites SSD data. This data erasure method ensures data is removed from the drive.

When retiring your SSD equipment use the following guidelines to assess your vendor:
– Do they provide support for a wide array of SSDs?
– Do they have different data erasure solutions for SSDs, HDDs, laptops, files, and virtual machines?
– Do they check and remove BIOS Freeze Locks?

Liquid Technology provides auditable data destruction for both SSDs and HDDs. Learn more about our data destruction services here.