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The Naval Surface Warfare Center at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico has—literally—tons of IT hardware and equipment used for classified programs that need to be destroyed by the most secure and irreversible means.
While White Sands Missile Range is an Army facility, NAVSEA researchers have a detachment there working on "land-based weapons system testing, directed energy weapons testing"—lasers—"and research rocket launch support," according to their webpage. Those researchers have on hand some 4,000 pounds of IT equipment, including magnetic, optical and solid-state storage devices with highly sensitive, classified data.
The center issued a solicitation for destruction services that specifically calls for all designated equipment to be burned "to ash."
The information stored on these devices is highly sensitive, as evidenced by the physical security requirements set forth in the solicitation. The incineration facility must have "at the minimum, secure entry, 24-hour armed guards and 24/7 camera surveillance with recordable date and time capabilities."
https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2019/02/navy-needs-2-tons-storage-devices-burned-ash/154629/
(Score: 2) by ledow on Tuesday February 12 2019, @04:38PM (3 children)
There's a microSD card / mini USB key inside the mounds and mounds of equipment.
You blow up the pile / fire it with a rocket.
You now have no idea / accountability for whether that thing stayed in the pile and burned or just disappeared by blasting off somewhere.
Now you have to a) know that happened, b) see it go, c) find it and d) destroy it properly.
Guess where the Russians will be looking with a metal detector whenever they casually walk past.
Hell, a hard drive could easily launch itself intact and land in a recoverable state, let alone a little flash disk.
It's an incredibly stupid suggestion. This kind of stuff will be individually marked, recorded, checked off, tallied, witnessed, audited, etc. not just "lob it in with the rest of them". You are literally looking at someone counting, tagging and tracking each individual item, from shipment out, to entry into the facility, to the final destruction. With staff being searched in and out, any missing number being jumped upon like a lost classified storage device should be (i.e. Yes, you will bend over until we're satisfied we've found that missing item), and a complete audit trail with witnessed forms.
"Device 178548. Show me it. Check the model and serials. That tallies. Place that into furnace lot #234." Then again, as it arrived at the furnace. Then again as it goes from the furnace into the flames themselves.
Not just that, but you can be sure that there'll be a background check on everyone who even touches it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fritsd on Tuesday February 12 2019, @04:58PM
Oh c'mon... I'm sure your president Trump will phone around to his friends, and one of them will have a competitive bid to make those hard drives and USB sticks disappear from the USA.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @09:27PM (1 child)
Furnace? Ask Germany for help.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @01:15AM
Too soon.