IPA IP 2023 Question 81
A question IPA Japan published in 令和5年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問81, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
When an HDD is disposed of, which of the following lists all and only the appropriate measures for preventing information leakage from the HDD?
Explanation
Overwriting with random data, and physical destruction — only methods that remove or destroy the recorded data itself stop a leak from a discarded HDD.
- •A: Data erasure software overwrites every sector of the disk, including free space and areas no file points to, several times with random data. The original magnetic patterns are replaced, so the data cannot be read back. Appropriate.
- •B: Drilling through the platters or shredding the drive with a media shredder makes the disk physically unreadable. Appropriate.
- •C: Deleting a file only removes its entry from the file system's management area, and a logical (quick) format only rebuilds that management area. The data blocks stay on the platters, and recovery tools can read them back. Not appropriate.
Answer (a)
Why not others:
- •(b) and (c) and (d) — each includes C, which leaves the data on the disk where recovery software can find it
Key rule: Deleting and formatting erase the index, not the data; before disposal, overwrite the whole disk or destroy it physically.
Security · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.