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Data sanitisation and wipe records

How-ToIT Asset ManagementUpdated 17/04/2026
How per-drive wipe records work, NIST 800-88 compliance levels, and what to do when a drive fails the wipe.

A single IT asset may contain multiple storage devices (laptop with SSD and HDD, server with a RAID array). Each drive requires its own wipe verification for compliance.

Creating wipe records

Use the Data Wipe toolbar action on a disposition line item to create wipe records for each drive in the asset.

Drive identity

  • Drive Type: HDD, SSD, NVMe, Tape, USB, SD Card, or Other.
  • Manufacturer, Model, Serial Number.
  • Capacity (GB).

Wipe details

  • Wipe Method: Software Overwrite, Cryptographic Erase, Secure Erase, Block Erase, Degauss, or Physical Destruction.
  • Wipe Software: the tool used (e.g. Blancco, DBAN).
  • Wipe Standard: the NIST 800-88 level achieved:
    • Clear: logical techniques to sanitise user-addressable storage. Protects against simple recovery.
    • Purge: physical or logical techniques rendering recovery infeasible even with lab techniques. Required for most compliance frameworks.
    • Destroy: renders the media physically unusable (shredding, incineration, disintegration).
  • Passes: number of overwrite passes (1, 3, or 7 depending on standard and media type).

Result and verification

  • Result: Pass or Fail.
  • Verified By: the person who confirmed the result.
  • Verification Date.

Failed drive disposal

When a drive fails the wipe (bad sectors, firmware lock), a separate section captures the alternative action: physical destruction type, destruction vendor, destruction date, and destruction certificate reference.

Tips

  • Always verify wipe results before releasing assets.
  • Use NIST 800-88 Purge as a minimum for any drive that held sensitive data.
  • Keep per-drive records for audit purposes. Aggregate "the asset was wiped" is not sufficient for most compliance frameworks.
ITADdata sanitisationwipeNIST 800-88driveSSDHDDclearpurgedestroycertificate

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