What does "data sanitization" refer to?

Data sanitization specifically refers to the process of securely deleting data in a manner that prevents unauthorized recovery. This process is crucial in various contexts, especially in data protection and cybersecurity, as it ensures that sensitive information cannot be accessed or reconstructed after it has been deleted.

Secure deletion can involve methods like data wiping, which overwrites the original data with random patterns, thereby making it unrecoverable. This is particularly important when disposing of storage devices or ensuring that information is irretrievable after a system is no longer in use.

While the other options involve important data management practices, they do not relate directly to the concept of sanitization. For example, encrypting data is focused on ensuring confidentiality, backing up data aims to prevent loss during incidents like hardware failure, and transferring data to a different format pertains to data migration or conversion processes. Each of these has its distinct purpose, yet none addresses the secure deletion aspect that is central to data sanitization.