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Training Camp • Cybersecurity Glossary
Degaussing erases magnetic media like hard drives and tape using a strong magnetic field, a NIST 800-88 purge method that does not work on SSDs.
Degaussing Definition: Degaussing erases magnetic media like hard drives and tape using a strong magnetic field, a NIST 800-88 purge method that does not work on SSDs.
Degaussing is a data sanitization method that uses a strong, controlled magnetic field to disrupt and remove the magnetic domains that store data on hard disk drives and magnetic tape. Properly degaussing magnetic media renders the stored data unrecoverable and typically leaves the drive permanently inoperable. It is recognized by standards such as NIST SP 800-88 as a purge-level technique for magnetic media, but it does not work on flash-based solid-state drives.
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