Decommissioning and media sanitization

Skills you'll practise

• Verify a decommission target with at least two independent identifiers and stop when records disagree
• Choose a Clear, Purge or Destroy approach suited to HDDs and SSDs and explain why degaussing doesn't sanitize flash
• Keep and check a chain-of-custody record and a certificate of sanitization
• Route equipment, media and batteries to the correct disposal path and update asset records

Course outline

1. 1.Decommissioning and media sanitizationVideo · 2 min
2. 2.A decommission that takes down only what it shouldLesson · 14 min
3. 3.Media sanitization: Clear, Purge and DestroyLesson · 15 min
4. 4.Chain of custody, disposal and recordsLesson · 12 min
5. 5.Decommissioning and media sanitization: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 17 questions
6. 6.Decommissioning and media sanitization: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
7. 7.A drive goes missing between the cage and the shredderScenario
8. 8.Final exam7 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

• NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2: Guidelines for Media Sanitization (September 2025; supersedes Rev. 1) (Clear, Purge and Destroy; certificate of sanitization). Check which revision your organization follows.
• EU WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU and EN 50419 (crossed-out wheeled-bin marking for separate collection of electrical and electronic equipment)
• General data-center operations practice