The need for standards
Without a set of standards, what people consider "destroyed", or how they think data is protected, would differ widely from what is actually needed to ensure complete destruction. Standards, and devices that meet them, mean that data needing protection is disposed of properly. That ranges from your own personally identifiable information (PII) to national and military secrets that protect millions of lives.
US National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST SP 800-88 Rev 1
NIST Special Publication 800-88 Revision 1, Guidelines for Media Sanitization, is the current internationally recognized standard for organizations and agencies sanitizing data and storage media that leave their control.
Read NIST SP 800-88 Rev 1 (PDF)
NSA/CSS Policy Manual 9-12
The NSA/CSS Policy Manual 9-12, Storage Device Sanitization and Destruction Manual, gives routine guidance for sanitizing information system storage devices for disposal or recycling, in line with DoD Manual 5200.01 Volume 3, Intelligence Community Standard 500-34 (Electronic Waste Management and Disposal) and NSA/CSS Policy 9-12. Information on these devices may range from UNCLASSIFIED to TOP SECRET. The manual also explains how to obtain current listings of evaluated sanitization equipment that meets NSA/CSS specifications.
NSA media destruction guidance
National Security Agency Evaluated Products List (EPL)
The NSA/CSS Evaluated Products List is a continually updated list of products proven to destroy data beyond recovery. Our degausser and HDD crusher are NSA/CSS-evaluated models.