Storage Media Sanitization With Protected Audit Trails
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data sanitization processes are cumbersome, costly, and lack a comprehensive, easy-to-use solution for standards-compliant sanitization across various storage types, risking data breaches due to inadequate protection of audit trails.
Innovation Solution
A system and methodology that supports simultaneous processing of multiple disk drives, leverages onboard capabilities, uses a dynamic decision-tree approach for efficient sanitization, and protects the audit trail through encryption and secure storage to prevent tampering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data sanitization is performed using traditional software-based processes with multiple overwrite passes, then data security is improved, but processing time and operational cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the storage device's own hardware capabilities (self-service) to perform sanitization. SSDs use cryptographic erase commands that reset encryption keys, and HDDs use secure erase commands that magnetically overwrite data at the hardware level, eliminating the need for time-consuming software-based multiple overwrite passes while maintaining security compliance
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes sanitization parameters based on device type and capabilities. It selects between different sanitization methods (cryptographic erase for SSDs, secure erase for HDDs, overwriting for other devices) and adjusts overwrite pass counts and patterns according to NIST standards and device-specific features, optimizing both speed and compliance
2Ease of operation
If audit trails are stored in plaintext or with basic protection during sanitization processes, then ease of access for verification is improved, but vulnerability to tampering and data breaches increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary protective actions to audit trails by implementing cryptographic hashing (SHA-256) and digital signatures before the sanitization process completes. These measures are preemptively applied to prevent tampering, allowing verification of audit integrity without compromising accessibility for authorized personnel
Solution Approach 2:
The audit trail protection uses a composite approach combining multiple security layers: cryptographic hashing for integrity verification, digital signatures for authentication, and encrypted storage. This multi-layered composite structure maintains audit accessibility while providing robust protection against tampering
3Adaptability or versatility
If a comprehensive solution supports all storage device types (HDD, SSD, NVMe, flash) with standards-compliant sanitization, then versatility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal sanitization platform that handles multiple device types (HDD, SSD, NVMe, flash storage) through a single integrated system. The software automatically detects device type and applies appropriate sanitization methods, while hardware-accelerated commands provide multi-functional capability across different storage technologies without requiring separate specialized tools
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs an intermediary layer (software controller) that mediates between the user and diverse storage devices. This intermediary automatically identifies device characteristics, selects appropriate sanitization protocols, and manages the complexity of multiple device types, presenting a simplified unified interface to users while handling device-specific complexities in the background
4Use of energy by moving object
If multiple disk drives are processed sequentially one at a time, then resource requirements are reduced, but productivity and throughput decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sanitization process into independent parallel tasks that can be distributed across multiple disk drives. Each drive is processed as an independent segment with its own sanitization thread, allowing simultaneous execution of multiple sanitization operations without requiring excessive resources on any single processing unit
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from sequential (one-dimensional) processing to parallel (multi-dimensional) processing by utilizing multiple disk drives simultaneously. This dimensional change in processing architecture enables throughput proportional to the number of drives while distributing resource consumption across the parallel processing environment
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for performing standards-compliant data sanitization of Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) drives, and other portable storage media, e.g. flash storage, USB thumb drives at an optimized speed and for protecting an audit trail created while performing standards-compliant data sanitization of information and data storage devices. The sanitization and overwrite processes herein disclosed are executed by completely web-based applications that use the local hard drive (host) as a server intermediate the web browser and the program files.