Seeing the popularity of the issue of emergency erasure of devices, I would like to tell you about the emergency erasure of mobile phones and tablets. So, we have a hacker, persistent knocking to the door, people in masks in the peephole of the door. To be honest, usually hackers in the apartments have calls, and at the peephole there will be a neighbor who will be asked to help, but we are interested in the hacker’s reaction, who urgently needs to destroy their mobile.
Probably the first option that comes to mind is to throw the phone out of the window, but they know about this technique, and it works badly. Here is a video with a hacker who acted in this way, though, as you can see, this did not help him with a computer and flash drives.
Another option that immediately comes to mind is to let the devices down to the sewage system. Usually they do this with money, but hardly any smartphone will get through the toilet, I'm not talking about the tablet.
I also do not consider breaking it with a hammer. Modern smartphones are well protected from hits, so with a high probability with a small home hammer you not only cause no damage to the drive, but do not even disable the phone.
Acid can also not lead to a result, if we are talking about a good smartphone. Here is a video that clearly demonstrates how difficult it can be to destroy a smartphone in acid.
Emergency data erasure systems
I will tell you about three effective methods of destruction. The first method is electromagnetic systems for data erasure. Here's what they look like:
During the visit of uninvited guests, external hard drives, flash drives, a tablet and a phone are put in this box. The box is closed, the activation button is pressed, then a beep will sound, and that's it. The devices no longer contain any information, now the hacker can open the door until it is damaged with a crowbar or grinder.
Here is a video demonstration of the way the system works.
This video destroys the hard drive of the computer, but believe me, there is no difference, to destroy the hard drive of the computer or the phone. The only thing is that the system of erasure of such a form as it is in the video, is not suitable for the emergency erasure of the tablet, for this you need a device like "Case", shown in the image above.
And this is how the Impulse system works.
There are some drawbacks that are worth paying attention to, which are the price of such devices, reaching up to $1,000, and the need for annual technical inspection. The main advantage is reliable data erasure. The manufacturer gives one hundred percent guarantee that the information on the media cannot be restored on many devices.
Discharge via USB
Electromagnetic data erasure systems is not the only solution for disabling a mobile device. On AliExpress, they sell devices designed to destroy mobile devices by electrical discharge.
After using such a device, it will be practically impossible to determine the cause of a phone breakdown visually, unlike other methods of disabling, for example, dipping into water. In addition, for modern smartphones a waterproof case is not uncommon, that is why swimming can give no result.
It is important to understand that although the device is disabled, the data on the internal and external memory does not suffer and can be retrieved by specialists. From my point of view, this device is rather more a beautiful toy than on a tool for effective erasure.
Microwave
In fact, almost all of us have an effective system for the erasure of mobile devices and tablets, which is a microwave oven. Although this is not a cheap and safe way, it works quickly and reliably.
Imagine the situation when the hacker, realizing that they are breaking into their apartment, and this is not Santa Claus with gifts, recalls that valuable information is placed in the mobile phone, and it will certainly become evidence against the one.
They run to the kitchen, throw the phone into the microwave, turn it on for 60 seconds and maximum power. High-frequency pulses after a few seconds will lead to the combustion of almost all chips, and the phone will become unusable.
But what will happen to the information on the device, it definitely cannot be said, it is a matter of luck. On the Internet, they write that it to hold a device there for a long time, it burns out along with information carriers. But believing the internet is not the right approach, and for the experiment I don’t have an extra microwave oven.
But there is a video showing what is happening with the phone in the microwave.
I cannot assess the risk of fire and complete burnout of the phone, the video shows that the phone is really inflamed; however, in the microwave, it is most likely that the amount of oxygen required for burning is limited, and the flame will eventually go out.
In addition to fire, do not forget about the presence in the phone battery. Modern lithium-ion batteries of mobile devices contain a toxic element lithium, it has a particularly serious effect on the human nervous system and kidneys. And, of course, the battery may explode. The only thing that can comfort a hacker is that the one will not get affected.