Advantages
-There are no advantages to this method as the data is not erased.

Disadvantages
-No report provided to prove that the data has been completely destroyed.
-Data is not erased and can be easily recovered with freely available data recovery tools.
-Organizations and individuals are at huge risk of identity theft, legal and financial battles, lawsuits, jail    time, etc. due to the ineffectiveness of this method.

Advantages
-Purchasing a degaussing machine is usually a one time investment.
-Can be used to destroy data on a variety of magnetic media.
-Degaussing is a fast process.

Disadvantages
-Difficuilt for on-site service due to heavy equipment.
-Expensive Equipment and no HMG Infosec Standard No 5 and no report generated.
-Modern hard drives use thicker shielding and require a much stronger electromagnetic field in order to    destroy all the data.
-There is no way to guarantee that a particular degaussing machine is strong enough to destroy all the data on   every hard drive.
-Other components of the drive are also damaged making it difficult to verify the erasure process.
-Hard drives cannot be reused.
-Can only be used on magnetic media.
-Degaussing machines are expensive and special care must be taken to protect nearby equipment.
-Degaussing does not provide reporting of the erasure process which is needed to prove regulatory    compliance.

Advantages
-It is an effective way of destroying data if carried out correctly
-Large amounts of media can be destroyed at once
-Different types of media can be destroyed simultaneously
-Physcial Destruction is a fast process

Disadvantages
-Difficuilt for on-site service due to heavy equipment.
-Expensive Equipment and no HMG Infosec Standard No 5 and no report generated.
-Physical destruction does not provide reporting of the destruction process which is needed to prove    regulatory compliance
-Hard drives and other storage media cannot be reused and is therefore not an environmentally safe    approach.

Advantages
-Able to be done on-site service.
-An effective and convenient way of permanently destroying data.
-The erased media can be reused.
-Can be deployed over the network to target specific PCs. Erasure reports can be sent to a central database    offering centralized management.

Software tools that provide detailed reporting of the erasure process are able to validate the erasure of the media. Reports contain data such as:
o Hard drive serial number
o Information on the PC erased
o Date of erasure
o Name of technician
o Results/errors concerning the erasure process

Can be performed in-house eliminating the risk of media being stolen during storage or transit to a third party.

Disadvantages
-Long operation hours.
-Cannot be used if the media is damaged or is not writeable.
-Not all overwriting tools are able to erase data on the locked/hidden sectors thus compromising data    security.
-Most overwriting tools operate through the BIOS which results in an incomplete erasure being performed as    the BIOS provides inaccurate information on the size of the hard disk.
-Most overwriting tools do not provide detailed reporting of the erasure process therefore providing no audit    trail.
-Many freeware/shareware tools exist which perform an incomplete erasure putting a company at risk of a    data breach.