FC0-U71 Security Practice Question
A technician is asked to dispose of several old hard drives that contained customer records. The drives still function and the company wants to reuse them in a different department. Which action BEST protects the data while allowing reuse?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating deletion or reformatting as if it removes data, when those operations only remove file system references and leave the original sectors readable.
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
✓
Overwrite the entire drive with random data using a secure wipe utility.
When magnetic media will be reused, the data must be rendered unrecoverable without destroying the hardware. A full-drive overwrite with random data replaces the original contents at the sector level, so forensic recovery tools cannot reconstruct the customer records. Deleting, reformatting, or merely locking up the drives leaves the original data intact and therefore does not meet the confidentiality requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Store the drives in a locked cabinet until they are needed again.
Why it's wrong here
Physical storage in a locked cabinet protects against theft but does nothing to remove the customer records from the media. The data remains fully readable by anyone who later accesses the drives, and the risk persists for as long as the drives exist. The requirement is to protect the data while permitting reuse, so an access-control measure alone does not satisfy the sanitization need.
- ✗
Reformat the drive with a different file system.
Why it's wrong here
Reformatting changes the file system structures and makes files appear gone to the operating system, but it does not overwrite the data regions where the previous files were stored. Forensic tools can still recover those records because the magnetic patterns remain intact. Since the drives are being reused within the organization, the customer data would remain exposed to anyone who examines the raw disk.
- ✗
Delete all files and empty the recycle bin.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting files and emptying the recycle bin only removes references to the data in the file system; the underlying sectors still contain the original content and can be recovered with widely available forensic tools. Because the drives will be reused, the residual data remains a confidentiality risk. This method does not meet the goal of protecting customer records before the drives change hands.
- ✓
Overwrite the entire drive with random data using a secure wipe utility.
Why this is correct
Overwriting every addressable sector with random data destroys the original contents so they cannot be recovered through normal forensic recovery. Because the procedure leaves the drive functional, it satisfies both requirements: protecting customer records and allowing the hardware to be reused in another department. A full-drive overwrite is the standard sanitization method for magnetic media that will remain in service.
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JA
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
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.