Assured Sanitization of Stored Data

Cornerstone Research Group, Inc., proposes to evaluate and analytically validate the technical feasibility of three concepts for new materials and processes enabling data storage that can be discreetly sanitized by a mobile system operator under duress. In a manner analogous to burning paper documents and pulverizing their ashes, the technology resulting from this program will use materials and processes whose physics of erasure preempt any possible reconstruction of the original data. These new technology concepts include substitute materials for CD/DVD and hard drives and an entirely new optical data storage technology based on novel liquid crystal materials. Each concept offers a new data sanitization mechanism that poses no danger to the operator, can be easily and discreetly actuated, and will render the data forensically irrecoverable. Phase II development of technology found feasible in Phase I will yield significant advancement in the data protection vital for maintaining the current U.S. leadership in warfare technology.