POSTED BY

John Brownlee

AT 10:25 AM
Thursday May 1, 2008

Computers

crushers • hard drive • security

Hard drive crushers... er.... crush drives hard

hard_disk_crusher.jpg

For those who prefer to play it counter-espionage safe when it comes to their data, EDR Solution's Hard Disk Crusher will do what it says on the tin: crush hard discs into MacBook-Air-thin wafers of collapsed, unreadable data. The site claims it can crush up to 6 hard disks a minute, and is even as green-friendly as a device of incredible destructive power can be: although it runs off a standard 110v outlet, you can also use a hand-pump, which will crush your drive in 15 pumps. The price for all this paranoia? A staggering 12 grand. And chances are, if you're willing to pay that to protect your privacy, you're not going to be happy until you atomize your old data for ultimate unrecoverability.

EDR Solutions Hard Disck Crusher [Official Site via Oh Gizmo]

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17 Comments

Jake0748

#1 – 10:47 AM May 1, 2008

We used to have so much fun coming up with new ways to destroy old hard drives when I worked in the shop. I bet one of the best things about using this crusher would be the sound it makes as it busts through the drive. I wonder if you could rent one for a couple days, just to play with.

David Carroll

#3 – 11:41 AM May 1, 2008

You might try this from Greenlee

I have never tried it but it's only $1,700

toxonix

#4 – 12:25 PM May 1, 2008

I have a 200lb anvil from 1898 and a sledge hammer. The sledge hammer is also very handy for fending off RIAA zombie agents.

Skipper

#5 – 12:33 PM May 1, 2008

That's only one of the many tools from Greenlee that will do the trick. :)

agraham999

#6 – 1:15 PM May 1, 2008

Anyone wanna wager their biggest client is the White House?

acb

#7 – 1:19 PM May 1, 2008

Wouldn't this be overkill? Surely a sledgehammer, a bucket of acid, or an incinerator would do the job as well for a fraction of the cost.

Frank_in_Virginia

#8 – 3:40 PM May 1, 2008

As hard drives increase in capacity and decrease in physical size, the pieces of platter remaining after this method contain a sizable amount of data. The only way to truly destroy a hard drive is through pulverisation (all parts of the hard drive smaller than .5mm square and "mixed") or melting. This machine is OK for Unclassified data.

ROSSINDETROIT

#9 – 3:51 PM May 1, 2008

@3:
And it has the memorable name Stud Punch.
The connotations of that are going to give me nightmares now.

kiint

#10 – 4:33 PM May 1, 2008

you must admit the (intentional?) irony in placing this article right after the Seagate millionth hard-drive article

Thinkerer

#11 – 4:39 PM May 1, 2008

I'm thinking that Monsieur Curie will save us all a lot of stud punching. Apply heat -- mourn for lost data.

cf. "Curie Point"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curie_point

Anonymous Anonymous

#12 – 7:14 PM May 1, 2008

Thermite is your friend.

biophile

#13 – 8:24 PM May 1, 2008

For 12 grand it should fire depleted uranium and come with a guarantee that yer porn sectors will never be readable again...

I was tasked with decomissioning a drive recently and found that a cold chisel and a sledge worked quite nicely...cost about $10.

semiotix

#14 – 1:16 AM May 2, 2008

Sure, it'll destroy the data (even after the feds cut the power before storming your compound), but then you're left with a hard-drive-destroying machine and the smoking remnants of a bunch of hard drives. That's going to look worse in court than the evidence you were trying to destroy!

What we need is a machine that will, at the push of a button, completely overwrite illegal or secret data with merely embarrassing or sensitive data. That way your flop sweat looks like a natural reaction to someone finding your .torrent files of Welcome Back Kotter and Big Breasted Amateurs Vol. XXX.

"STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER! We know it's got the stolen nuclear technology on it! I'll just take a look at your directory and... 180GB of Harry Potter slashfic?! Aw, man, somebody's playing a joke on you. Sorry about busting down your door, ya pervert."

Bugs

#15 – 8:44 AM May 2, 2008

I love that the "Warrany void if broken" is left perfectly intact.

However, I don't really understand why this is any better than putting a few nails through it or subjecting it to high temperatures or a couple of EMPs.

mikeryz

#16 – 1:50 PM May 2, 2008

For $12k, my preferred disposal methodology would be:

1. Buy a boat.

2. Use a screwdriver to open the case of my hard drives.

3. Load said boat with beer, snacks, and friends.

4. Find about a thousand feet of water.

5. Jettison hard drives over the side. If desired, pretend that you are having a wake for your pr0n that you just deep-sixed.

Anonymous Anonymous

#17 – 2:53 PM August 27, 2009

To rent the Crusher or to receive the crushing as a service, EDR has a few resellers who provide these services:
In Canada and the US it is Vernon Technology Solutions at www.vernoncrusher.com

Again you can rent the crusher or have drives crushed as a service and it is much less expensive then the price of buying your own.

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