What is data sanitization in cybersecurity and what is the purpose of data sanitization in a given organization? what are the best data sanitization methods and what is the difference between data sanitization and data destruction?
The process of permanently and irreversibly deleting sensitive data from a system or device so that it cannot be accessed or retrieved by unauthorised individuals is known as data sanitization in the field of cybersecurity. Data sanitization is used by a specific organisation to prevent sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands and becoming the source of data breaches, identity theft, or other cybercrimes.
Depending on the type of data, the system or device it is stored on, and the organization’s security requirements, the optimal data sanitization techniques change. Data sanitization techniques frequently used include overwriting data with random values, degaussing (wipe data from a hard drive using a magnetic field), and physical destruction (such as shredding or melting hard drives).
Data sanitization and data destruction vary primarily in that sensitive data is removed while maintaining the functionality of the device or system, whereas data destruction includes rendering the device or system useless. When a device or system is no longer required, such as when it is being disposed of or recycled, data destruction techniques are often used.