Some people think that busting up a hard drive with a hammer or puncturing holes in it will solve their problem. That is debatable. After busting up a hard drive with a hammer or puncturing holes in it you have a mess to clean up and most likely, a new bandage stuck to your skin.
And still — the data remains.
Also, hard drives are classified as hazardous waste. At the end of the day the mess will invariably end up in a landfill; the aluminum and circuit board debris will become part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.
The better alternative is to degauss and recycle the hard drive. Degaussing erases data completely and permanently regardless of the operating system or type of device from which it came.
After Carolina Data Destroyers safely and responsibly erases all information on hard drives, every drive is recycled.
UPDATE: NISP Operating Manual (also called NISPOM, or DoD 5220.22-M) no longer specifies any particular method of eData sanitation, but leaves it up to the "Cognizant Security Authority (CSA)" and that is why industry now relies on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publication 800-88 for guidance.
In addition, software vendors advertising they meet NIST 800-88 and DoD 5220.22M don't mention the important difference between clearing, and purging. The only recommended methods of purging are Secure Erase or Degaussing. Purging (not clearing) is the method of data elimination certain to comply with legal requirements of HIPAA, PIPEDA, GLBA, or Sarbanes-Oxley. Overwritting is approved for lower security data eliminations only.
Clearing information is a level of media sanitization that would only protect the confidentiality of information against a robust keyboard attack.
Simple deletion of items would not suffice for clearing. Clearing must not allow information to be retrieved by data, disk, or file recovery utilities. It must be resistant to keystroke recovery attempts executed from standard input devices and from data scavenging tools. For example, overwriting is an acceptable method for clearing media.
There are overwriting software or hardware products used to overwrite storage space on the media with non-sensitive data. This process may include overwriting not only the logical storage location of a file(s) (e.g., file allocation table) but also may include all addressable locations. The security goal of the overwriting process is to replace written data with random data. Overwriting cannot be used for media that are damaged or not writeable. The media type and size may also influence whether overwriting is a suitable sanitization method. Studies have shown that most of today’s media can be effectively cleared by one overwrite.
Purging information is a media sanitization process that protects the confidentiality of information against a laboratory attack. For some media, clearing media would not suffice for purging. A laboratory attack would involve a threat with the resources and knowledge to use nonstandard systems to conduct data recovery attempts on media outside their normal operating environment. This type of attack involves using signal processing equipment and specially trained personnel. Executing the firmware Secure Erase command and degaussing are examples of acceptable methods for purging.
Degaussing is fast, irreversible, and complete. Degaussing can be an effective method for purging damaged media, or for purging media with exceptionally large storage capacities. It requires a degausser of appropriate strength for the media to be purged. The hard disk is demagnetized by subjecting it to a strong magnetic field. It changes the polarity of the magnetic medium, which destroys the data. This method completely removes all data without any remnants and protects the confidentiality of information against a laboratory attack. However, it also demagnetizes the servo information rendering the drive permanently unusable. Degaussing is not effective for purging nonmagnetic media, such as optical media (compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), etc.)
NOTE: Most tapes may be reused after degaussing (LTO tapes are an exception) in fact occasional degaussing of tapes actually extends there useful life.
NOTE: Degaussing a hard drive is a destructive act to hard drives, it will no longer be usable.
Secure Erase is not a software based product, it is embedded as a function of the drive control electronics. It protects the confidentiality of information against a laboratory attack. It was developed in cooperation with The National Security Agency (NSA), drive manufacturers, and the University of California San Diego's Center for Magnetic Recording Research (CMRR at UCSD) headed by Dr. Gordon Hughes.
Secure Erase completely erases all possible user data areas including data in reallocated disk sectors that the drive no longer uses because they have hard errors in them.
Secure erase has been approved by the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Computer Security Center. NIST is responsible for developing standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements, for providing adequate information security for all federal agency operations and assets, but such standards and guidelines do not apply to national security systems.
Secure erase is non-destructive, therefore the drive may be reused.