Data-leakage is the uncontrolled, unauthorized transmission of classified information from a data centre or computer system to the outside. Such leakage can be accomplished by physical removal of data storage devices (diskettes, tapes, listings, printouts and photographs of screen copies or ...

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3k views

How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive?

As storage technologies change over time, using different encodings and remappings to deal with sector errors, the best way to permanently erase/wipe/shred data changes also. Methods for flash drives ...
17
votes
4answers
4k views

Why is writing zeros (or random data) over a hard drive multiple times better than just doing it once?

Lots of different programs, such as Darik's Boot and Nuke, let you write over a hard drive multiple times under the guise of it being more secure than just doing it once. Why?
11
votes
5answers
2k views

Could mint.com be more secure, and if so, how?

After reading a bit about mint.com on the money stack exchange, I wanted to give it a try. But frankly, it scares me a little bit. The site has a bunch of links explaining how they're so secure. I ...
35
votes
5answers
5k views

How do you destroy an old hard drive?

How do you destroy an old hard drive? To be clear, unlike questions Secure hard drive disposal: How to erase confidential information and How can I reliably erase all information on a hard drive? I do ...
10
votes
6answers
598 views

Best method of retiring hard drives

What are some typical ways you guys retire hard drives? We have a hard drive that won't mount anymore (makes clicking sounds when it tries to mount). The data on it isn't necessarily sensitive (no ...
1
vote
1answer
266 views

What encryption is possible for ReadyBoost?

ReadyBoost is a technology to assist getting Windows Vista or 7 to load faster on memory-constrained PC's. Since a USB stick can be easily removed, what security options are available for this ...
13
votes
5answers
2k views

Preventing information disclosure from browser back button/history?

I have sensitive data that will be hosted on a website, and I would like to prevent the data from being exposed in this scenario: The primary user logs off the application, but does not close the ...
11
votes
4answers
751 views

Is clipboard secure?

Can a browser get the data on my clipboard? Data could be for example my temporary password? Any browser or operating system that allows this?
10
votes
4answers
1k views

Is it feasible to encrypt customers personal data? (name, address etc…)

Seeing the Sony Personal data kerfuffle unfold has gotten me thinking about the encryption and securing of personal data - obviously credit cards can (and should) be encrypted, making data breaches of ...
8
votes
1answer
313 views

How can I secure my log files?

I have a cool tool that displays my syslog and kernellog on my mac's desktop. This has me concerned about what is written in them - I'm staring to feel like they are creating a hole in my privacy. I ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views

Recover the prior contents of RAM from a turned-off PC?

I've heard that if your PC is turned off, then an attacker can recover the RAM from the last session. I find this hard to believe. How could it be done?
2
votes
1answer
148 views

Data remanence on mobile devices

The methods in which data should be deleted is strictly enforced by the DoD as well as others security sensitive organizations. However, there are complications with deleting data on an SSD. Given ...
4
votes
1answer
398 views

Data loss protection in software artifacts

Data loss protection is a major concern to every industry. The software engineering process involves multiple points for potential data loss, as a number of parties are involved other than the client ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views

Is running an erase tool after an OS install sufficient to ensure no data from the old install is recoverable?

How secure do you consider this process? A drive has data from a previous OS installation. A new OS installation is made on the drive, and Heidi Eraser is run on free space. What are the chances ...
2
votes
1answer
711 views

How to secure MySQL based web session data table?

I have the following MySQL session schema: CREATE TABLE `SessionData` ( `id` varchar(50) COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL, `data` text COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci, `date` datetime DEFAULT NULL, ...