HP LaserJet, OfficeJet, PageWide, ScanJet - HP FutureSmart Firmware Device Hard Disk, SSD, and eMMC Security (white paper)

Government Erase Standards
These devices comply with current US Government requirements for Clear and Purge when clearing
confidential data from a hard disk as specified in Updated DSS Clearing and Sanitization Matrix AS OF June 28,
2007 and NIST Special Publication 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitation (R1 December 2014).
NIST 800-88 defines three levels of sanitization, from weakest to strongest:
 Clear Overwrite all storage space one or more times
 Purge Degauss the disk or execute the ATA Secure Erase command if the drive supports it (all hard
disks used by HP support this command)
 Destroy Incinerate, crush, or chemically destroy the disk
Secure Erase Feature NIST Sanitization Level
Managing Temporary
Job Files
Clear when using Secure Fast Erase or Secure Sanitize Erase modes
Erase Job Data Clear
Secure Disk Erase Clear and Purge
Erase/Unlock
encrypted disk
Purge
Appendix A: Secure Erase Data Overwrite and Specifications
Normally when a file is deleted from a HDD, the filename entry is erased from the disk’s file allocation table,
removing the file’s presence. The file’s data still exists in the disk’s individual sectors and is overwritten only
when that sector is allocated for a different file.
HP Secure Erase technology overwrites a deleted file’s data from the individual sectors with random data
using either a one pass or three-pass overwrite, which conform to current US Government specifications.
Note: See the Government Erase Specifications section for further information
To enable Secure Erase using data overwrite, select the following options for “File Erase Mode” when
available:
 Non-secure Fast Erase mode: Performs standard file system delete only (does not overwrite file data)
 Secure Fast Erase mode: Performs a one pass overwrite of all data
 Secure Sanitizing Erase mode: Performs a three pass overwrite of all data
Note: The system default is Non-Secure Fast Erase mode. Secure Fast Erase mode is recommended for best
overwrite system performance.
Overwrite Specifications
Secure Fast Erase mode follows the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-
88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.
For Secure Fast Erase, each deleted file’s data is overwritten once with:
 the hexadecimal character 0x48.