From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Sep 3 23:56:38 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4C57616A4CE; Fri, 3 Sep 2004 23:56:38 +0000 (GMT) Received: from ms-smtp-03-eri0.ohiordc.rr.com (ms-smtp-03-smtplb.ohiordc.rr.com [65.24.5.137]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9BFBA43D4C; Fri, 3 Sep 2004 23:56:37 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from vkaul@ma.rr.com) Received: from gogobera.ma.rr.com (dhcp024-160-209-216.ma.rr.com [24.160.209.216])i83NuUVd020712; Fri, 3 Sep 2004 19:56:30 -0400 (EDT) To: "Len Zettel" , freebsd-questions@freebsd.org References: <200409032318.i83NIcu05679@puffin.ebi.ac.uk> <200409031941.18668.zettel@acm.org> Message-ID: From: "Vijay Kaul" Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 18:55:47 -0500 In-Reply-To: <200409031941.18668.zettel@acm.org> User-Agent: Opera M2/7.54 (Win32, build 3869) X-Virus-Scanned: Symantec AntiVirus Scan Engine cc: freebsd-fs@freebsd.org cc: David Kreil cc: freebsd-geom@freebsd.org Subject: Re: gbde blackening feature - how can on disk keys be "destroyed" thoroughly? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 23:56:38 -0000 On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 19:41:18 -0400, Len Zettel wrote: > While i am not an expert in this area, I can not help but wonder--- > Who are you worried about recovering the data, under what > circumstances? My best guess is that recovering anything from > even _one_ data over-write is going to require that the recoverer have > physical posession of the drive and very sophisticated equipment > indeed. That means they have to be some branch of a govermnment. > If you are going to attract attention of that caliber there are likely a > lot > of other easier means of finding out what you are up to. Otherwise, a > good hot fire ought to be pretty final even for the CIA. > -LenZ- I used to work in a lab and a co-worker had be a submarier for the US. He said that one of their projects was to figure out how to best destroy CDs for the government. Supposedly the CDs were recoverable even after cross-shredding. They either decided that melting them over a "heatsink" (coffee mug) in a microwave (also makes a nice ash tray) or going at them with an acetaline torch was the final solution.