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220-1102 Practice Question: During a security audit, a technician discovers…
During a security audit, a technician discovers that an employee used a hammer to destroy several old hard drives. The drives are now in pieces, but the organization's policy mandates 'secure data destruction' for compliance. Which additional step should the technician take?
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
✓
Visually inspect the platters for scratches and breaks, then shred any intact platters.
To verify the destruction by inspecting the platters for visible damage and ensuring they are not intact. Hammering may leave platters partially readable. This question tests the concept of verification in data destruction, as physical methods must be confirmed effective.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Document the destruction and consider it complete.
Why it's wrong here
Documenting destruction merely records that an action was performed, but it does not provide verifiable proof that the data is truly unrecoverable. For security audits and compliance requirements, it is critical to confirm the actual destruction of data, not just the intent or process. Without physical verification, there remains a significant risk that data could still be extracted from the media, rendering the documentation insufficient.
- ✗
Use a degausser on the remaining pieces.
Why it's wrong here
Degaussing is a method designed to destroy data on intact magnetic storage media by exposing it to a powerful magnetic field, randomizing the magnetic domains. If the hard drive is already broken into 'pieces,' the degausser may not uniformly affect all fragments, especially if they are small or non-magnetic components. This method is impractical and unreliable for physically fragmented media, as it cannot guarantee complete data destruction across all remnants.
- ✓
Visually inspect the platters for scratches and breaks, then shred any intact platters.
Why this is correct
Visually inspecting the platters is a crucial step to confirm that the data-bearing surfaces have been sufficiently damaged, such as by deep scratches or complete breakage. If any platters remain intact or only partially compromised, data recovery could still be possible. Shredding any remaining intact platters ensures complete physical destruction, rendering data unrecoverable and providing undeniable proof of destruction, which is essential for meeting stringent security and compliance standards.
- ✗
Run a data recovery tool on the pieces to see if data remains.
Why it's wrong here
Running a data recovery tool is designed for logically damaged or partially functional storage devices, not for physically shattered components. Attempting to use such software on 'pieces' of a hard drive is impractical because the necessary electrical connections and coherent data structures are absent. Furthermore, it risks damaging the recovery equipment and cannot provide reliable verification of data destruction on physically fragmented media; physical damage requires physical verification.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Windows Security Features
Key term
Compliance
Compliance is the process of ensuring that an organization follows laws, regulations, standards, and internal policies that apply to its operations and data handling.
Key term
General Data Protection Regulation
A European Union law that gives individuals control over their personal data and sets strict rules for how organizations collect, store, and process that data.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 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 220-1202 exam.