ADISA Verifies & Certifies Blancco’s SSD & Mobile Erasure Software

Jun 03, 2022 Blog Article

Globally recognized, ADISA Certification Limited executes some of the most rigorous and well-known data sanitization testing on the market—which means we’re proud to be ADISA certified for both our SSD/NVMe and mobile erasure solutions. 

Farah Mithani A tech-focused writer and editor, Farah covered topics related to cloud security, software, and hardware while working at a Fortune 500 company. She then joined Blancco as content marketing specialist. In that role, she authored data management, data erasure, and IT asset lifecycle content while supporting Blancco’s social media and email channels.

What is ADISA? 

ADISA Certification Limited (ADISA) provides data protection services with a focus on certification, training, and consultancy. For more than ten years, ADISA has certified companies that provide data sanitization services. It is recognized by the U.K. Ministry of Defence and has developed data sanitization standards adopted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  

Vendors submit their products to ADISA for testing on the hardware of their choosing, including solid-state drive (SSD) and nonvolatile memory express (NVMe) erasure software. The ADISA Industry Standards apply to companies such as ITADs (IT asset disposition providers) and others tied to IT asset recovery, leasing, logistics, repair—and, like Blancco, data sanitization solution providers.  

Our Commitment: ADISA Certified Erasure

Blancco greatly values rigorous third-party testing of its solutions from organizations such as ADISA to ensure its customers meet regulatory standards. The ADISA audit process has many layers, including full audits, unannounced operational audits, and forensic audits. This methodology ensures ADISA-certified companies operate with the highest industry standards while reflecting current best practices for handling IT assets. 

Blancco Drive Eraser and Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure have both been tested and ADISA certified, ensuring that the products sanitize data against varying risk levels. 

Blancco Drive Eraser and Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure have both been tested and ADISA certified, ensuring that the products sanitize data against varying risk levels.  

How We Performed on ADISA Certification Testing  

ADISA results: Blancco Drive Eraser achieves NIST Purge on tested SSD and NVMe drives

Our ADISA certified erasure software includes our flagship product, Blancco Drive Eraser. Blancco Drive Eraser passed testing on ADISA Test Levels 1 and 2 for claims about solid-state drives (SSDs) and NVMe drives. Testing results documentation states, “Blancco Drive Eraser, version 7.2, when used in accordance with the user manual, will overwrite using algorithm NIST Purge, all user data on the sample media to ensure that data cannot be recovered using forensic techniques aligned to ADISA Test Level 2.”

A 128Gb SATA SSD and a 256 GB NVMe drive were specified for these claims. The evaluated risk levels correspond to Test Level 1 (recreates an attack using standard Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) forensic tools and techniques) and Test Level 2 (recreates an attack utilizing both COTS and bespoke utilities to read data directly off the device at the platter/chip level).  

In both cases, claims were confirmed on the tested devices. More details on the ADISA methodology, Blancco solution test results, and the corresponding meaning of each test level can be found in the ADISA Claims Test Report for Blancco Drive Eraser.

ADISA results: Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure achieves sanitization on tested Android phone, iOS phone and tablet

Additionally, Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure has been certified to sanitize data on mobile devices against ADISA Test Level 1: Testing Smart Phones and Tablets. In this case, the test replicated an attack on an Android phone, an Apple iPhone, and an Apple iPad, and proved to protect data against designated threats from both a casual threat actor and a commercial data recovery organization: in both cases, data was unrecoverable. As above, please see the corresponding ADISA Claims Test Report for details to learn more about our ADISA certified erasure software.

Blancco’s Role in Meeting ‘ICT Asset Recovery Standard’ Requirements 

To give you a sense of why we value having achieved ADISA certification for these two products, here’s a brief statement on a notable milestone, a standard approved by the U.K. ICO:

The ADISA Asset Recovery Standard is an agreement between ADISA and the ICO on what must happen when a processor or sub-processor provides data sanitization services in order for it to be U.K. GDPR compliant. The ADISA ICT Asset Recovery Standard 8.0, and the corresponding ADISA ICT Asset Recovery Certification 8.0, takes away the complexity surrounding data protection and cybersecurity and ensures that businesses and ITADs properly dispose of regulatory assets and maintain regulatory compliance.  

The two certified products above, in addition to all other Blancco software, meet or support the applicable guidance and requirements laid out in ADISA ICT Asset Recovery Standard 8.0.

We are pleased to report that the two ADISA-certified products above, in addition to all other Blancco software, meet or support the applicable guidance and requirements laid out in this standard, including automation and inventory tools integration (Guidance Note 3.3.50), reporting capabilities (audit reporting according to Section 3, Module 3), and sanitization overwriting best practices and verification (Section 3, Module 4), including when conducting overwriting services on a client location (Section 3, Module 5). 

We Help You Stay Compliant with the Most Rigorous Regulatory Standards 

In addition to passing tests like those carried out by ADISA, Blancco regularly submits products to be reviewed by government-sponsored certification and approval agencies around the globe. These agencies analyze the algorithms, methods, and effectiveness of Blancco software.  

Tested, certified, approved, and recommended by multiple governing bodies and leading organizations around the world, no other data erasure software matches this compliance with the rigorous requirements set by government agencies, legal authorities, and independent testing laboratories.  

We are proud to offer ADISA-certified data erasure software through Blancco Drive Eraser and Blancco Mobile Diagnostics & Erasure. It’s part of how we show our commitment to going above and beyond to equip ITADs and enterprises to meet or exceed data sanitization standards around the world.

Originally published March 30, 2017. Updated most recently on July 16, 2024, with ADISA certification updates.

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