National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST), Publication 800-88 Guidelines for Media Sanitization

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-88 Guidelines for Media Sanitization will assist organizations in implementing a media sanitization program with proper and applicable techniques and controls for sanitization and disposal decisions, considering the security categorization of the associated system’s confidentiality.

The following excerpts are taken from the NIST SP800-88 Guidelines for Media Sanitization

“Authority: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed this guide in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002, Public Law 107-347. NIST is responsible for developing standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements, for providing adequate information security for all federal agency operations and assets…”

“Purpose and Scope: The information security concern regarding information disposal and media sanitization resides not in the media but in the recorded information. The issue of media disposal and sanitization is driven by the information placed intentionally or unintentionally on the media. With the advanced features of today’s operating systems, electronic media used on a system should be assumed to contain information commensurate with the security categorization of the system’s confidentiality. If not handled properly, release of these media could lead to an occurrence of unauthorized disclosure of information…”

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