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Secure Erase

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If you intend to transfer ownership of iodyne storage to another person or organization, or to complete a project where you are required to ensure all project data is permanently deleted –  by company policy or law – you can use our Secure Erase feature to quickly wipe your device, and reset it for re-provisioning. First, a little background to explain how we’re able to achieve this through encryption keys.

Previous methods of erasing storage devices often entailed slowly and repeatedly overwriting data with all zeros or a random sequence of bits. Even then, deleted information might be later recoverable through data forensics. Fortunately, data encryption/decryption methods today are sufficiently robust and efficient where brute-force obscuring of the original information is no longer necessary.

All information on Pro Data and Pro Mini is automatically secured against unauthorized access using XTS-AES-256 cryptographic keys stored in a hardware Secure Enclave, and optionally protected by an inherited device-wide password or passkey, or a custom password which applies only to its container. As a result, actions which “destroy” data or make it unrecoverable can be performed quickly and irrevocably by discarding a key from the Secure Enclave. Therefore, an entire iodyne device can be erased by discarding all keys from the Enclave, and reformatting the storage back to zeroes for reuse.

Secure Erasing iodyne storage deletes all containers, including their data, metadata, and encryption keys. Only continue if everything is backed up and verified or safe to permanently destroy, as this action will render all content unrecoverable, and cannot be undone.

The following sections describe how to securely erase Pro Data and Pro Mini devices respectively. In the case of Pro Data, you will need to first boot the device in Firmware Recovery mode.

Pro Data

 
To Secure Erase Pro Data, perform these steps:
  1. Reset Pro Data into Firmware Recovery mode by following the instructions in Pro Data Firmware Recovery Mode or the process shown in the video above.
  2. Open iodyne Utility, and select Erase Device… from the Devices submenu for the intended device.

    mceclip0.png
     
  3. Confirm erasure of the device in the dialog prompt by providing the device password and checking the confirmation checkbox before clicking Secure Erase.
    Erase-Device.png
Once the procedure is complete, iodyne Utility will notify you with a confirmation dialog.
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You may now repurpose the device or transfer ownership, safe in the knowledge that all data has been irretrievably wiped from your Pro Mini.
 

Pro Mini

The procedure to Secure Erase Pro Mini is similar to the one above, however Firmware Recovery mode is not required, and it will differ slightly depending on its configuration.
  1. If your device is assigned to a project in iodyne Cloud, remove it from the project before proceeding.
    remove-device.jpg
    Mouse over the device’s row to reveal the remove (circle-minus) icon
  2. Launch iodyne Utility, and select Erase Device… from the Devices submenu for the intended device.
    devices-menu.png
  3. Confirm erasure of the device in the dialog prompt by checking the confirmation checkbox before clicking Secure Erase. Note: Depending on the Pro Mini device’s configuration, you may also need to provide the device password if you are in Secure mode, or the device recovery code if you aren't connected to the Internet and signed in to iodyne Cloud (see below).
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Basic configuration Erase dialog
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Secure configuration Erase dialog
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Managed configuration Erase dialog

Retrieving Device Recovery Codes From iodyne Cloud

In Managed mode when you are signed in to iodyne Cloud and connected to the internet, iodyne Utility polls iodyne Cloud for the Device Recovery Code and populates the Secure Erase dialog with this information. If, however, these conditions cannot be met, you may retrieve the code for your device through the following procedure:

  1. Log in to iodyne Cloud and navigate to your device's Status tab, where the Recovery Code may be revealed

    device-recovery-code.png
     
  2. Clicking on Reveal spawns a dialog with the code. Click the icon to copy this code to your clipboard, and paste it into the Secure Erase dialog in iodyne Utility, above

    device-recovery-code2.png
Once the Secure Erase procedure is complete, iodyne Utility will notify you with a confirmation dialog.
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You may now repurpose the device or transfer ownership, safe in the knowledge that all data has been irretrievably wiped from your Pro Mini.
 
 
 

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