If you ever need to destroy one of the best SSDs by drilling a hole in it, you need to make certain you hit the right spot. A recent viral Reddit story has reminded us that missing the target can have serious consequences. In this incident, an IT employee reportedly attempted to destroy a SATA SSD by drilling a hole through it before disposal, a common tactic for businesses to ensure their data is destroyed. However, the individual failed even to make contact with the SSD's PCB and left the drive intact, with the data still accessible, and the drive ended up on the market.
The story serves as a powerful lesson about the importance of proper data destruction procedures. Drilling a hole through a hard drive is as old-school as you can get. But SSDs are different, and some recent drives, like the one in the Reddit post, have shorter PCBs, so drilling a hole in the center may not reach the NAND chips. In this case, it didn't even touch the PCB. If you're going to drill the SSD, at least make multiple perforations or open the drive to ensure you hit the bullseye.
The “IT guy” at work drilled through the SSD’s before giving them away from r/pcmasterrace
Manual destruction may be feasible for smaller companies, but it can be cumbersome for larger companies that manage many drives. In the latter case, it may justify engaging a hard drive or SSD destruction service, where you can pay a company to handle all the dirty work. For other cases, you can always invest in a storage medium destroyer.
For example, DiskMantler uses vibrations to destroy hard drives in 90 seconds. Then there is the less sophisticated approach, such as the Puncher P30, which drills four holes through your hard drive or SSD. Now, if you need rapid destruction, alternatives like the MediaGone 500 SSD & Flash Media Shredder can destroy hundreds of SSDs, USB flash drives, and smartphones in an hour, while the NVMe Destroyinator wipes data from up to 16 M.2 SSDs simultaneously at jaw-dropping speeds up to 64 GB/s.
If you insist on having personnel drill holes in your hard drives or SSDs, it would be wise to update the procedures manual to have them drill multiple holes at strategic locations, such as the NAND chips and controller, for maximum effectiveness. As a safety measure, you can add a clause requiring a thorough physical inspection of the drive after drilling.
Alternatively, a different tool could be a viable option. For example, a hammer can be surprisingly effective for destroying internal components and may be more satisfying than drilling. Ultimately, the goal is to leave no doubt that no data has been destroyed. A few extra steps can provide peace of mind for the employee and the organization.
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