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Scrub away your troubles: wipe that hard disk clean  by George Spain IS Technical Publisher You wouldn’t leave a patient’s file on a cafeteria table and walk away, would you? And you wouldn’t leave an employee’s personnel file in a waiting room, right? Is there any way you’d entrust your proprietary research data to a stranger on the street? Or leave your pay stub in the lunchroom over the weekend? Well, sending your computer to surplus with the hard drive intact amounts to these same things.   This private and proprietary information would be a windfall for an ill-intentioned recipient, one who is increasingly on the lookout for such potentially lucrative data. Sophisticated crooks are ever vigilant for secret info that might help them steal an identity, sell patient information to dubious businesses, or even attempt blackmail. Because surplused computers are auctioned off to the public, there’s no telling who might wind up with one. If you haven’t scrubbed the hard drive, the computer’s new owner will have your data, too.   That hard drive inside the computer headed for surplus might contain patient data, payroll information, research data, etc. The worst part is, just erasing the drive doesn’t destroy this sensitive data.   Richard Gadsden, security officer for Office of the CIO Information Services, said a policy adopted earlier this year requires all surplused computers to have their hard drives “scrubbed” and be accompanied by a signed certificate stating that this process was followed.   “Scrubbing a hard drive is more than simply reformatting it,” said Gadsden. “Reformatting a drive doesn’t delete the actual data from the drive. It’s possible to un-reformat a drive to recover its data. Scrubbing actually goes to every nook and cranny of the hard drive and over-writes all the existing data with random bits. This makes any data recovery physically impossible.”   This process can take awhile—more than an hour in most cases—but the job’s done right.   Information Services provides a procedure and a small program to insure that each hard drive headed for the scrap heap is scrubbed completely. You can find this information online at http://www.musc.edu/infoservices/software/ (requires MNA). Near the bottom of the page is the procedure called “GDisk instructions.” There’s also a utility program that helps you complete the process. Download it, follow the instructions carefully and it will automatically scrub the drive. Macintosh and Linux versions will be available soon.   While Gadsden knows of no reported serious breach of MUSC’s new policy so far, OCIO-IS computer techs will begin conducting random audits of surplused computers and hard drives. Drives will be randomly selected and inspected, to verify that all data was securely deleted from them.   Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.