According to theCHFI v11 Computer Forensics FundamentalsandEvidence Handling and Sanitizationguidelines,media sanitizationis a critical process used to ensure that deleted or sensitive data cannot be recovered using forensic techniques. Different international standards define specific overwrite patterns and the number of passes required to securely sanitize storage media.
The procedure described—six overwrite passes alternating between 0x00 and 0xFF, followed by a final overwrite with 0xAA—exactly matches theVSITR (Verschlusssache IT Richtlinien)standard. VSITR is a German government–approved data sanitization method that mandates7 overwrite passes:
Passes 1–6: Alternating 0x00 and 0xFF
Pass 7: Final overwrite with the pattern 0xAA
CHFI v11 explicitly references VSITR as ahigh-assurance sanitization standard, suitable for environments handling classified or highly sensitive information. This method is more rigorous than commonly used standards such asDoD 5220.22-M, which typically uses 3 passes (or a legacy 7-pass variant with different patterns).NAVSO P-5239-26 (MFM)uses different overwrite schemes, andGOST P50739-95generally involves fewer passes.
From a forensic and legal standpoint, following a recognized sanitization standard like VSITR demonstratesdue diligence, compliance, and defensibility, especially when preventing data leakage after incidents.
Therefore, based on the overwrite pattern and number of passes described, the media sanitization standard followed by Sarah isVSITR, makingOption Cthe correct and CHFI v11–verified answer.
