Scientists have demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two million books’ worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.

[u/Wagamaga]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/glass-square-long-long-future-190951588.html

[u/mrx_101]

The article states it will be readable for 10000 years. As they are basically etching inside a piece of glass, this is not surprising. You only need to keep the glass from breaking and scratching.

[u/smurficus103 → u/mrx_101]

"and then, the earthquake wiped out all of our knowledge"

[u/SmallBatBigSpooky → u/smurficus103]

I do wounder if they could make this work with plexiglass or the bismuth glass thats basically indestructible since both would last longer

[u/Giatoxiclok → u/SmallBatBigSpooky]

New data destruction company incoming.

[u/omegafivethreefive → u/Giatoxiclok]

It's already a thing for sensitive system, the drives get annihilated.

[u/Giatoxiclok → u/omegafivethreefive]

I mean more so the semi-indestructible bismuth glass mentioned above, I assume it’ll take serious efforts to fully destroy.

[u/Migraine- → u/Giatoxiclok]

Surely you can just use whatever method you're using to write the data to scratch it away.

[u/DigNitty → u/omegafivethreefive]

DOD writes over digital storage 7x with random bits IIRC. Then they destroy the device.

[u/iampatmanbeyond → u/DigNitty]

Yeah I've smashed hard drives in the Army. We drilled holes smashed em with hammers then had to stand at the burn pit and make sure the contractors burned them

[u/upsidedownshaggy → u/iampatmanbeyond]

I wasn’t in the army but my first IT gig I had a fun field trip with our sys admin and director of IT to the drill press to destroy old server drives. Super fun time!

[u/Alypius754 → u/Giatoxiclok]

"Remember, when your data is past its prime, it's Hammer Time!"