Data remanence is the residual representation of
digital data that remains even after attempts have been made to remove or erase the data. This residue may result from data being left intact by a nominal
file deletion operation, by reformatting of storage media that does not remove data previously written to the media, or through physical properties of the
storage media that allow previously written data to be recovered. Data remanence may make inadvertent disclosure of
sensitive information possible should the storage media be released into an uncontrolled environment (
e.g., thrown in the trash, or lost).