Modern Method and Software Tool for Guaranteed Data Deletion in Advanced Big Data Systems

Abstract

In today’s digitally empowered world, confidential data protection is a bit difficult especially when the user lacks knowledge about the importance of data sanitization before discarding, selling, or donating devices with memory (storage). To protect data, generally, users encrypt files and folders, hard drives, password protect flash drives and encrypt SD card on their smartphone to avoid unauthorized access to their confidential data. But almost all of these devices are discarded, sold, or donated without proper data sanitization at the end of their life cycle. Deleted data can be easily recovered from any storage media whether it’s a USB thumb drive, HDD, SSD, SD card, etc. Interestingly, data from a formatted, encrypted, and broken or crushed storage media can also be recovered using data recovery software and services. Therefore, to protect and safeguard your confidential data from an unauthorized access, you must erase the files/folders and wipe the empty spaces (unused space) on your hard drive volume as the empty spaces might contain previously deleted sensitive and private data that can be easily recovered. This paper investigates international standards and methods of guaranteed data deletion that exist in different countries, a comparative characteristic of data deletion software. Also in this study, the method of guaranteed data deletion that has been improved due to the developed pseudorandom sequence generator develops algorithms and software for this method and conducts experimental researches of developed solutions to verify their effectiveness. The developed software module STM Shredder refers to information security particularly in Big Data concept. The results of experiments show its ability to expand the capabilities of information processing and storage systems for large files (faster by 30%).