Confirmation of secure data file erasure
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device comprising:
- a storage medium supported in a housing;
a user-input value that links to in a unique set of patterns that when used to overwrite a data file meets an approved standard;
an erase trigger that effectuates overwrites of data files on the storage medium, where each said overwrite comprises said unique set of patterns to each said data file and is periodically activated at a discrete point in time prior to the initiation of said overwrite, subsequent to the user entering the parameters for said overwrite, the number and order of said patterns varies according to said user-input value identified for each of said data file;
a secure storage medium eraser comprising an overwrite algorithm that erases the data file on the storage medium in response to the erase trigger; and
a report generator that can create a report on a status of a triggered erasure in response to predetermined criteria.
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Abstract
A process that provides a status report following a request for the destruction of data files a user wishes to completely erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive or removable disk. A system administrator can select a quantity of and pattern to be used in overwrites of the data file so that no one can recover the data from the storage medium. In embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) can be provided to allow user triggering of and parameter setting for the process. The GUI can be implemented at a device in which the storage medium is a component or can be implemented in a device driver GUI on a personal computer in communication with the device.
29 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A device comprising:
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a storage medium supported in a housing; a user-input value that links to in a unique set of patterns that when used to overwrite a data file meets an approved standard; an erase trigger that effectuates overwrites of data files on the storage medium, where each said overwrite comprises said unique set of patterns to each said data file and is periodically activated at a discrete point in time prior to the initiation of said overwrite, subsequent to the user entering the parameters for said overwrite, the number and order of said patterns varies according to said user-input value identified for each of said data file; a secure storage medium eraser comprising an overwrite algorithm that erases the data file on the storage medium in response to the erase trigger; and a report generator that can create a report on a status of a triggered erasure in response to predetermined criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A device comprising:
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a storage medium supported in a housing; a user-input value that links to a unique set of patterns that when used to overwrite a data file meets an approved standard; a stored pattern table containing a plurality of patterns that can be accessed according to an overwrite algorithm; an erase trigger periodically executed at a discrete point in time prior to the initiation of said overwrite, subsequent to the user entering the parameters for said overwrite, that effectuates an overwrite of a data file on the storage medium, wherein said overwrite comprises said unique set of patterns selected from said stored pattern table that is unique to said data file and is activated according to a user-input value identified for said data file; a secure storage medium eraser comprising said overwrite algorithm that erases the data file on the storage medium in response to the erase trigger; a report generator that creates a report on a status of a triggered erasure in response to predetermined criteria; and a report setup interface through which the predetermined criteria can be set. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A selective secure erase report generation method comprising:
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overwriting a data file with a set of patterns chosen from a stored pattern table that is unique to said data file according to a predetermined secure erase method in response to an erase trigger periodically activated at a discrete point in time prior to the initiation of said overwrite, subsequent to the user entering the parameters for said overwrite, by user-input value identified for said data file; checking that said file has been erased according to a predetermined industry standard in response to a confirmation trigger; determining whether a report should be generated; and generating a report of the status of a triggered erasure when the report should be generated. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. An apparatus including:
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a storage medium supported in a housing; a user-input value that links to a unique set patterns that when used to overwrite a data file meets an approved standard; an erase trigger that effectuates an overwrite of a data file on the storage medium, where said overwrite is periodically activated at a discrete point in time prior to the initiation of said overwrite, subsequent to the user entering the parameters for said overwrite, and comprises using said unique set of patterns selected from a pattern table used to overwrite said data file and is activated according to said user-input value identified for said data file; a secure storage medium eraser comprising an overwrite algorithm that erases a the data file on the storage medium in response to the erase trigger; a report generator that creates a report on a status of a triggered erasure in response to predetermined criteria including at least one of an indication that a report is to be generated, a type of report to generate, and a destination for the report; and a report setup interface through which the predetermined criteria can be set; the apparatus performing a selective secure erase report generation method comprising; checking to see whether a report is to be generated; when a report is to be generated; checking a type of report to generate; checking a destination for the report; and generating the report at the destination. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification