Secure disposal of files and storage media

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which action counts as secure disposal of a file containing personal information?

A Overwriting the file with secure deletion software so it cannot be recovered

B Dragging the file to the Recycle Bin and leaving it there

2. A school retires an old hard drive that held student records. What is the best disposal method?

A Format it quickly and donate it to a charity

B Physically destroy the drive, for example by shredding it

3. True or false: Disposal means permanently destroying data so it cannot be recovered.

A True

B False

4. When should an organisation securely dispose of customer records?

A Once the retention period has ended and the data is no longer needed

B As soon as the data is collected, whether or not it is still needed

5. Which statement about retention periods is correct?

A Data should be kept forever just in case it is useful later

B Data is kept for the retention period, then securely disposed of

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1secureDelete("clients_2015.csv")		APermanently erases a file by overwriting its data so it cannot be recovered
2shred(oldDrive)		BIF drive.status = "retired" THEN shred(drive)
3Disposal only happens after the retention period has ended		CPhysically destroys an old storage device so the data on it cannot be read again
4Disposal of a retired drive should destroy it, not just wipe or reformat it		DIF today > retentionEndDate THEN secureDelete(file)
5delete("clients_2015.csv") // file now disposed		EThe file is destroyed without checking the retention period, so data that must still be kept could be lost.
6IF file.age > 0 THEN secureDelete(file)		FA normal delete only removes the file's entry and the data can often be recovered. Secure deletion that overwrites the data is needed.

Definitions

disposal

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

IF today _ retentionEnd THEN secureDelete(file) END IF

IF today > retentionEnd THEN ____________(file) END IF

IF today > ____________ THEN secureDelete(file) END IF

________ drive IN oldDrives shred(drive) END FOR

retentionYears ← 7 keepUntil ← createdYear _ retentionYears IF today > keepUntil THEN secureDelete(file)

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A SET keepYears ← 7

B IF age < keepYears THEN

C secureDelete(file)

D END IF

Question 2

A FOR EACH file IN oldDrive

B moveToRecycleBin(file)

C NEXT file

Question 3

A IF retentionOver THEN

B secureDelete(file)

C destroyCopies ← FALSE

D END IF

Question 4

A SET method ← "reformat"

B destroy(oldDrive, method)

C PRINT "Drive destroyed"

Question 5

A FOR EACH drive IN activeDrives

B physicallyDestroy(drive)

C NEXT drive

Answer Key

Secure disposal of files and storage media

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Overwriting the file with secure deletion software so it cannot be recovered

B — Physically destroy the drive, for example by shredding it

A — True

A — Once the retention period has ended and the data is no longer needed

B — Data is kept for the retention period, then securely disposed of

Section B: Match the Pairs

secureDelete("clients_2015.csv") → Permanently erases a file by overwriting its data so it cannot be recovered

shred(oldDrive) → Physically destroys an old storage device so the data on it cannot be read again

Disposal only happens after the retention period has ended → IF today > retentionEndDate THEN secureDelete(file)

Disposal of a retired drive should destroy it, not just wipe or reformat it → IF drive.status = "retired" THEN shred(drive)

delete("clients_2015.csv") // file now disposed → A normal delete only removes the file's entry and the data can often be recovered. Secure deletion that overwrites the data is needed.

IF file.age > 0 THEN secureDelete(file) → The file is destroyed without checking the retention period, so data that must still be kept could be lost.

Section C: Definitions

disposal — Permanently destroying files and storage media no longer needed (e.g. secure deletion, shredding old drives) so data cannot be recovered, once any retention period ends.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF today > retentionEnd THEN
  secureDelete(file)
END IF

IF today > retentionEnd THEN
  secureDelete(file)
END IF

IF today > retentionEnd THEN
  secureDelete(file)
END IF

FOR EACH drive IN oldDrives
  shred(drive)
END FOR

retentionYears ← 7
keepUntil ← createdYear + retentionYears
IF today > keepUntil THEN secureDelete(file)

Section E: Spot the Error

B — The < means files are deleted while they are still inside the retention period. The file should only be destroyed once its age is greater than the retention period: IF age > keepYears THEN.

B — The recycle bin does not permanently destroy anything, so the data can still be recovered. Each file should be removed with secureDelete(file).

C — Disposal must also destroy copies, such as backups, or the data can still be recovered. It should be destroyCopies ← TRUE.

A — Reformatting a drive leaves the old data recoverable. A destructive method such as shredding is needed so the data cannot be recovered.

A — Only drives that are no longer needed should be destroyed. Looping over activeDrives would destroy drives still in use. It should loop over oldDrives.