Secure delete on Windows CIFS share

[Tim]

Hello – I am evaluating AxCrypt to use for encrypting and secure delete in my organization. I have not been able to find information on using AxCrypt’s secure delete on files stored on a CIFS share. I have tried it and the file is indeed deleted but I need to know if AxCrypt performed a secure delete or not. I have read that other secure delete utilities do not work as expected on network drives so I am looking for confirmation regarding AxCrypt.

Thanks!

 

 

[Albert]

There’s nothing wrong with the secure delete built into AxCrypt. Where the problems may arise if it you’ve got a backup system on the network share which retains deleted files.

Even if you perform a secure delete then any backups, if held, would still be available unless you did a secure delete on them too.

The absence of any visible file means that AxCrypt has deleted the original file and the original file only.

Take note that modern hard drives like SSDs use wear levelling technologies which make secure deletion almost impossible – short of physical destruction: incineration, shredding, degaussing etc.

[SvanteSpectator]

Hello Tim,

There’s nothing special with CIFS or other network shares, but there are many many limitations with the type of user mode secure delete AxCrypt (and most similar utilities) use.

What we do, is simple overwrite the file with random data. If the file system “at the other end” for example is journalling and retains shadow or generational copies, this are still there. If the file system or underlying firmware, for some reason does not actually write the actual data of the original file (for example SSD disks), or detects that the file is deleted soon afterwards the caching mechanism could determine the writes are “unnecessary”.

AxCrypt secure wipe protects against standard recovery measures, but not necessarily against advanced forensic techniques. For that physical destruction is the only known method guaranteed to work.

[Anonymous]

Very helpful! Thank you both!

Tim

 

[Author]

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