Secure Wipe

Data sanitization is the process of irreversibly erasing or wiping existing data stored on a memory device. It is essential for any organization to safeguard its sensitive data stored on a memory device from being retrieved by a third party. Secure wipe can be used for data sanitization and it provides the ability to wipe disk space according to DoD 5220.22-M standards, and afterwards reinstalls the ICX device. The process involves overwriting the previously stored data on hard disk or solid state disk drive storage areas with specific binary patterns repeatedly through a specific number of passes, followed by verification at the end of the final pass.
Note: Secure wipe is supported on the ICX 7550, ICX 7650, and ICX 7850 (router) devices only.

There are three different types of secure wipes:

  • Single Pass: Overwrites all addressable locations with a random bit pattern.
  • 3-Pass (DoD 5220.22-M [E]): Overwrites the previously stored data on hard disk or solid state disk drive storage areas with specific binary patterns repeatedly through three passes followed by verification.
    • Pass 1: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary zeroes.
    • Pass 2: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary ones (the complement of the previous pass).
    • Pass 3: Overwrites all addressable locations with a random bit pattern.
    • Verifies the final overwrite pass.
  • 7-Pass (DoD 5220.22-M [ECE]): Overwrites the previously stored data on hard disk or solid state disk drive storage areas with specific binary patterns repeatedly through seven passes followed by verification.
    • Pass 1: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary zeroes.
    • Pass 2: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary ones (the complement of the previous pass).
    • Pass 3: Overwrites all addressable locations with a random bit pattern.
    • Pass 4: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary zeroes.
    • Pass 5: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary zeroes.
    • Pass 6: Overwrites all addressable locations with binary ones (the complement of the previous pass).
    • Pass 7: Overwrites all addressable locations with a random bit pattern.
    • Verifies the final overwrite pass.

You can securely erase the flash memory contents permanently and reinstall the ICX device using the securewipe command. Secure wipe erases only the flash memory and does not erase EEPROM. Before the securewipe command begins overwriting, a warning message displays for you to consider the implications before proceeding with the process. Because secure wipe occurs during bootup, the ICX device will reboot an extra time after secure wipe to install packages and boot up from the installed FastIron image. Except for TPM keys, all the files, including configurations, licenses, and any other keys are lost after a secure wipe.

In this section:

  1. Secure Wipe Configuration Notes and Considerations
  2. Starting Secure Wipe
Parent topic: Configuration Fundamentals