220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is preparing to dispose of several old hard drives that contain sensitive company data. The organization's data destruction policy requires physical destruction. Which of the following methods are appropriate for physically destroying the drives? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is equating data erasure methods like degaussing or overwriting with physical destruction, which the policy specifically demands.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Incineration
Shredding and incineration are both physical destruction methods that render the drive unusable and data unrecoverable. Degaussing, overwriting, and low-level formatting are logical or magnetic erasure methods that do not physically destroy the media. Therefore, only shredding and incineration satisfy the policy requirement for physical destruction.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Incineration
Why this is correct
Incineration burns the drive at high temperatures, completely destroying the media and any data. This is a form of physical destruction that ensures no recoverable data remains. It must be performed in a controlled environment that meets environmental regulations. For organizations with strict data destruction policies, incineration is an appropriate method.
- ✓
Shredding
Why this is correct
Shredding physically breaks the drive into small pieces, making data recovery virtually impossible. This meets the requirement for physical destruction. Industrial shredders are designed for this purpose and can handle both HDDs and SSDs. It is a widely accepted method for secure data destruction when the media will not be reused.
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Low-level formatting
Why it's wrong here
Low-level formatting is a factory process that sets up the drive's sectors. It does not securely erase data and is not a physical destruction method. In fact, it may leave data remnants. Since the policy requires physical destruction, this method is inappropriate and does not meet the security requirement.
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Overwriting
Why it's wrong here
Overwriting writes new data over the old data, effectively erasing it. However, it is a logical destruction method, not physical. The policy explicitly requires physical destruction, so overwriting does not comply. Additionally, overwriting may not be reliable on all drive types, such as SSDs with wear leveling, making it less secure than physical destruction.
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Degaussing
Why it's wrong here
Degaussing uses a strong magnetic field to erase data on magnetic media. However, it does not physically destroy the drive, and it is ineffective on solid-state drives (SSDs). Since the policy requires physical destruction, degaussing alone may not meet the requirement, especially if SSDs are present. It also leaves the drive intact, so it is not a physical destruction method.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Classification Levels
Key term
Low-level formatting
Low-level formatting is the process of physically structuring a hard drive by creating tracks and sectors on the magnetic platters so the drive can store data.
Key term
Organization
An Organization is a top-level container in Google Cloud that represents your company or entities and serves as the root node for all your cloud resources, policies, and access control.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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