MediaSanitization

UMIACS Staff will securely destroy any data storage device, e.g., hard drives, USB sticks, CD/DVDs, that we are requested to destroy. Please stop by the help desk if you would like a device securely destroyed and we will place it in our pile of devices to be sent off to a destruction service when we acquire enough devices to schedule a mass destruction dropoff.

Self-service

If you plan to destroy a data storage device yourself, please be aware of the University's Data Retention Guidelines if the device is university-owned.

We always recommend physical destruction when possible, adhering to guidelines published by NIST here, specifically section 3.1.3. "Destroy Sanitization Method".