220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A company is decommissioning several SSDs from high-security laptops. The SSDs were encrypted with BitLocker. The organization must ensure data is unrecoverable while complying with environmental disposal regulations. Which method should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse degaussing (effective for HDDs) with a universal solution for all drives, or assume that BitLocker encryption alone makes data unrecoverable without physical destruction, ignoring that encryption keys may be recoverable from the TPM or that encrypted data can be brute-forced if the drive is not destroyed.
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
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C. Physical shredding
Physical shredding is the correct method because it physically destroys the NAND flash chips, making data recovery impossible. While BitLocker encryption protects data at rest, decommissioning requires complete destruction to prevent any potential recovery of encrypted or residual data. Shredding also complies with environmental disposal regulations when performed by a certified e-waste recycler.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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A. Degaussing
Why it's wrong here
Degaussing relies on an intense magnetic field to randomize or neutralize magnetic domains, which is effective for magnetic platter hard drives and tape. However, SSDs store data as electric charge in floating-gate transistors on NAND chips, not as magnetic states, so a degaussing field has no effect on the stored data. At most, strong degaussing could induce damaging currents in the SSD's controller, but the NAND cells themselves remain intact and data may still be recoverable.
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B. Overwriting with zeros
Why it's wrong here
Overwriting an SSD with zeros (or any pattern) is unreliable because the SSD's controller performs wear leveling, dynamically remapping logical block addresses to different physical NAND cells. A simple overwrite command may not reach every physical cell, especially those set aside for over-provisioning or bad-block management, leaving residue of old data. Additionally, operating-system-level writes do not guarantee that the drive's internal firmware actually rewrites all blocks; thus, this method does not meet high-security disposal standards such as NIST SP 800-88.
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C. Physical shredding
Why this is correct
Physical shredding is the definitive method for destroying SSDs because it mechanically pulverizes the NAND chips into tiny fragments, eliminating any possibility of reading charge states from the memory cells. This process ensures that both the flash dies and the controller are broken beyond repair, and it satisfies strict compliance requirements for high-security media destruction. The shredded material can then be recycled under safe environmental controls, making it both secure and responsible.
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D. Incineration
Why it's wrong here
Incineration, while it can burn away components, is not a secure or compliant disposal method for SSDs because burning electronic waste produces toxic byproducts such as brominated flame retardants, heavy metals, and dioxins. Moreover, typical incineration may not reach temperatures high enough to fully melt the silicon NAND die, potentially leaving recoverable remnants. Environmental regulations (e.g., the Basel Convention, EPA rules) restrict e-waste incineration without proper emissions controls, making it an impractical and hazardous choice for high-security data destruction.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1102 exam.