SSD and flash media destruction to 2 mm
Solid-state media cannot be degaussed and is unreliable to wipe. We disintegrate SSDs, M.2 and NVMe cards, flash drives, memory cards, phones, tablets, and circuit boards to particles under 2 mm on NSA-listed GigaBiter disintegrators, on your site, in front of you.
Why solid-state media is different
A hard drive stores data magnetically, so a strong enough field erases it. Flash memory stores data as charge in silicon; a degausser does nothing to it, and the NSA manual says so. Overwriting is unreliable too: wear-leveling, over-provisioned cells, and bad blocks keep copies of data where a write command cannot reach, and some drives implement their own sanitize command incorrectly or not at all. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2 points to IEEE 2883 for the media-specific purge techniques that do work, and every one of them has to be verified per device.
The way to remove the question is to make the chips small. NSA/CSS Policy Manual 9-12 requires solid-state media holding classified information to be disintegrated to particles of 2 mm or less on a device from the Evaluated Products List for Solid State Sanitization Devices. At that size no memory die survives intact. That is the standard we use for classified media and the one we recommend for anything sensitive.
What we destroy
2.5-inch SATA SSDs, M.2 and NVMe cards, mSATA cards, enterprise SSDs, USB flash drives, SD and microSD cards, SIM, CAC, and EMV cards, cell phones, tablets, network and daughter cards, motherboards and any board with soldered storage, and the solid-state cache boards separated from hybrid hard drives. CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs go through the same machine when mixed with other media, as its listing specifies. Whole laptops are taken apart, the storage disintegrated, and the chassis recycled.
Two rates, one reason
A 2.5-inch SATA SSD is cased and large enough for our industrial shredder to cut every chip, so it can take the standard shred rate when your standard does not require 2 mm. M.2, NVMe, and mSATA cards are bare sticks thin enough to slip between larger cutters, so they always go through the disintegrator. On the truck, tell us your standard and we run each item on the machine that meets it. By mail, the calculator applies the right rate to each line.
The machines
The GigaBiter GB12 rides in our trailer and the larger GB16 goes into the semi now in fabrication. Both are on the NSA/CSS Evaluated Products List for solid state sanitization devices by model number, both are built in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and both run a sizing screen inside the 2 mm NSA requirement. See the equipment and its listings.
Standards this satisfies
NSA/CSS 9-12 for classified solid-state media. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2 Destroy for everything else. DoDM 5205.07 for Special Access Program material, under your PSO's conditions. HIPAA, CJIS, CMMC and NIST 800-171, GLBA, and IRS 1075 as they apply to you.
By mail
Unclassified media can travel by tracked carrier. Per-item prices, $59 minimum, prepaid label included under 10 lb. Price a box.
- 2.5-inch SATA SSD, standard shred, by mail$8
- 2.5-inch SATA SSD, 2 mm, by mail$12
- M.2, NVMe, or mSATA card, 2 mm, by mail$12
- Flash drive or memory card, by mail$2
- Cell phone, by mail$4
- Tablet, 2 mm, by mail$15
Where we do it
Anywhere in the lower 48, next-day in our closest metros. Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Toledo, Youngstown, Dayton, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Erie, Wheeling, Morgantown, and 29 more.
Who uses this
Healthcare, Law enforcement and courts, Defense contractors, Federal, state, and local government, Education, Financial services, Data centers and colocation, Aerospace and defense suppliers.
Other services
Questions
Can you degauss an SSD?
No, and neither can anyone else. Degaussing has no effect on flash memory. Any vendor who offers to degauss your SSDs is describing a step that does nothing.
Is 2 mm required for unclassified SSDs?
Not by NIST; Destroy is satisfied by shredding. It is required by NSA/CSS 9-12 for classified media, and we recommend it for CUI, PHI, and anything a regulator would care about, because it removes the question of whether a chip survived.
What about phones and tablets?
Phones are disintegrated at the standard rate or the 2 mm rate, your choice. Tablets always go to 2 mm. Both go through whole; the storage is soldered to the board and the board goes in.
Can I ship SSDs to you?
Yes. CUI and other unclassified media can travel by tracked carrier. By mail, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs are $8 standard or $12 at 2 mm, and M.2 cards are $12, with a $59 minimum and the label included under 10 lb. Classified media never ships. Price a box.
What comes out the other end?
A fine metallic and silicon dust; the photo at the top of this page is an SSD after the GB12, with a penny for scale. The particles go to a domestic smelter with our other boards, where the precious metals are recovered. Every item is listed on the Certificate of Destruction by serial number.