Instant erasure of information..
Instant erasure of information.
Today, magnetic media occupy the leading positions among storage media. These include audio, video, streamer cassettes, floppy disks, hard drives, etc.
It is known from the theory of magnetic recording that information is recorded by successive action of an external magnetic field, changing according to the law of the information signal, on different sections of the carrier. Erasing occurs similarly, but instead of an information signal, a signal of some frequency is fed to the erasing magnetic head.
Based on the fact that it is necessary to perform two main tasks:
1. Completely destroy information;
2. Do this in the shortest possible time, preferably instantly.
It is not possible to act on a separate section to destroy only part of the information. Therefore, it is necessary to act on the carrier as a whole. In this case, there are two options.
1. Act on the carrier with a permanent magnet, passing the information carrier past it. The disadvantage of this method is the impossibility of demagnetizing large carriers without using a large magnet, as well as the need to pass the carrier through the magnet, which takes a certain amount of time and is difficult.
2. Act on the carrier with a powerful electromagnetic pulse. What does this method allow?
— information carriers can be in special chambers and still be in full working order. (for example, hard drives);
— data erasure occurs instantly, for this it is only necessary to put the previously accumulated charge into the chamber.
There are several types of such devices, developed both in Russia and abroad. One of the representatives of such devices is a line of products united under the brand name «Raskat». What are these devices?
Functionally, the «Raskat» has three main modules combined into a single design — a charge accumulation module, a camera and a control module.
In the charge accumulation modulethe charge required to erase the information is accumulated. After the charge has accumulated, which happens in 2-4 seconds, the product is ready for erasing, and if there is an electric power supply, the «Raskat» can remain in this form for as long as desired. It is possible to work with an autonomous power supply, or in some models, power from the vehicle's on-board network. A 24-hour autonomous power supply module is standardly offered.
Camerafor erasing is performed in such a way that the storage medium is completely exposed to the magnetic field pulse. A cooling system is added to use storage media while they are in the erasing chamber. This is important when working with hard drives (especially SCSI). In the case of personal computers, the chambers, like the entire unit, are built into the PC case in such a way that they do not interfere with the placement of other parts of the PC (motherboard, expansion slots). It is common practice to embed modules in the customer's PC, for example, the Raskat «PC» model. This device allows you to erase information from the hard drive and has an autonomous power supply for 24 hours.
In case of using separate devices, other types of cameras have been developed. For example, the Raskat «Mobile Rack» device, a universal transport carrier — Raskat «case», designed for transporting any magnetic media. The simplest type of the Raskat family is the Raskat «mini» — just put a floppy disk or audio cassette on the cover of the product and press the button on the front panel and the information will be erased.
The control module is designed to accept commands, process them in accordance with a specified algorithm and turn on the erase pulse.
In the simplest version, the erase command is given by pressing a button built into the device.
It is possible to use a remote button, located remotely, for example, at a security post.
Assuming that a crisis situation can begin at any time, an algorithm for triggering the device when a command is given from radio key fobs was proposed. Two types of key fobs are usually assumed — a standard one, operating at a distance of up to 50 meters in the line of sight, and an enhanced one, allowing not only to turn on the product from a distance of up to 1 km in the line of sight, but also to receive confirmation of the origin of the command.
To protect unauthorized access to the storage device, if for some reason it was not possible to learn about this attempt in a timely manner, the control module provides several more activation algorithms.
The most common of them is activation upon an attempt to open the case, when the Mobile Rack key is turned, and also activation upon lifting the case.
If necessary, control loops are connected to reed sensors, motion detectors or other security sensors.
If authorized access of personnel to the storage medium is required, it is sufficient to insert the access key, which is also a means of monitoring the operability of all activation algorithms. If for some reason, when installing the storage medium, at least one of the cables was not set to the normal readiness position, which can lead to instantaneous erasure of information when the key is removed, the key indicator will signal this, and the signal will not disappear until all necessary settings are made.
A separate algorithm is the PC power-on blocking device. This algorithm is not normally associated with the triggering of the «Raskat», but when used together it greatly increases the security of data on the PC. Without using the Touch Memory personal identifier, it will be almost impossible to turn on the computer. You will have to open the system unit, which will naturally lead to the triggering of the device and erasure of information from the storage medium.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the Raskat series products fit harmoniously into existing information security tools and systems, allowing to significantly increase the security of information processed at a protected facility. At the same time, ease of use and lack of settings allow any untrained user who has read the operating instructions at least once to operate this product.
Reliability, ease of use, guaranteed, instant and complete destruction of information on any magnetic media, including any hard drives, even those working at the time of destruction — these are the main advantages of this device. And in combination with the fact that it can be built into the case of any personal computer or carried in a briefcase, the Raskat series devices become unique and irreplaceable assistants in ensuring corporate and personal information security.