Author Description

This is a Hard copy of the NIST Special Publication 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization is a setup of Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.The information security concern regarding information disposal and media sanitization resides not in the media but in the recorded information. The issue of media disposal and sanitization is driven by the information placed intentionally or unintentionally on the media. With the advanced features of today's operating systems, electronic media used on a system should be assumed to contain information commensurate with the security categorization of the system's confidentiality. If not handled properly, release of these media could lead to an occurrence of unauthorized disclosure of information. Categorization of an information technology (IT) system in accordance with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, is the critical first step in understanding and managing system information and media. Based on the results of categorization, the system owner should refer to NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems, which specifies that, "the organization sanitizes information system digital media using approved equipment, techniques, and procedures. The organization tracks, documents, and verifies media sanitization and destruction actions and periodically tests sanitization equipment/procedures to ensure correct performance. The organization sanitizes or destroys information system digital media before its disposal or release for reuse outside the organization, to prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to and using the information contained on the media."Disclaimer This hardcopy is not published by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the US Government or US Department of Commerce. The publication of this document