Degausser Information

Degaussing is the process of reducing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field (information) stored on tape and disk media. Tape media is defined as any medium (reel, cassette) that contains magnetic tape as the recording medium. Disk media is defined as any medium (flexible disk, disk packs, sealed disk packs, hard disk drives, laptop drives, disk platters) that contains a disk as the recording medium. The correct use of a properly selected degausser will ensure that information is no longer retrievable.

Degausser Benefits

Guaranteed Security: Degaussing is the preferred method of sanitization by the Department of Defense (DoD) and National Security Agency (NSA).
Regulation Compliance: Government Users and Commercial Users can guarantee data security.
Save Time: Sanitize media in seconds, reduce risk by sanitizing on-site and prevent excess storage/handling of classified media.
Save Money: Reuse back-up tapes, sanitize crashed drives under warranty, reduce labor and administrative costs associated with transferring classified/sensitive media off-site.
Recycle: Increase cost savings provided by secure erasure with recycling, selling and/or donating legacy media.

Degausser Myths and Facts

Myth: All degaussers are created equally.

Fact: There are many degausser models available on the market, each rated for different media based upon the degausser field strength. A degausser's magnetic field strength is measured in Gauss or Oersteds. Likewise, magnetic media has a property called Coercivity, which is measured in Oersteds, that tells you how hard or how easy each tape or hard drive is to erase. For complete erasure, a degausser’s magnetic field strength must be two to three times the Coercivity of the media. At Data Security, Inc., we can help you identify the correct degausser based upon your media sanitization needs.

Myth: All degaussers erase disk drives.

Fact: Most commercial degausser specifications claim a magnetic field strength of 4000 Oersted (Gauss) or less, while most disk drives have coercivity ratings of 5000 Oersteds. To ensure complete erasure, a degausser’s magnetic field strength must be two to three times the Coercivity of the media. Therefore, a 4000 Oersted (Gauss) degausser has barely enough strength to erase 2000 Oersted media, making a 4000 Oersted commercial degausser insufficient for proper erasure of today’s 5000 Oersted hard disk drives. Let Data Security, Inc. identify the correct degausser for you based on your media needs.

Myth: Formatting, deleting, overwriting and/or physical destruction of media is an adequate substitution for degaussing.

Fact: The only way to ensure all information is removed from a tape or disk is to use an appropriate, NSA approved degausser. Formatting, deleting and overwriting does not erase files, it simply removes pointers and compresses disk space - the files remain and can be recovered leaving your data at risk. Likewise, physical destruction (i.e. shattering, drilling, folding, shredding and disintegrating) does NOT ensure your data is unrecoverable either. Both commercial and government laboratories have methods to successfully recover information from tiny pieces of disks and tape. The only way to ensure all information is removed from a tape or disk is to use an appropriate, NSA approved degausser. That being said, the NSA does recommend hard disk drives be physically damaged after degaussing and prior to disposal. Regulations.

Myth: All electromagnetic degaussers create a dangerous magnetic field that escapes the degausser.

Fact: At Data Security, Inc., we believe that a stray field is wasted energy and design our degaussers to shield the magnetic field inside the machine. The magnetic field outside of a Data Security, Inc. degausser is equal to or less than the earth's magnetic field. Health & Safety.

Myth: All electromagnetic degaussers heat media.

Fact: All electromagnetic degaussers do not heat media. When magnetic media that is encased in aluminum is exposed to an AC magnetic field for an extended period of time, the temperature of the media will rise. This phenomenon is common with many commercial table top style degaussers. A capacitive discharge degausser from Data Security, Inc. eliminates the constant exposure to an AC field and does not heat the media.