Here's a Christmas present to my Saudi friends. One used blackberry with all data sync'd up until last week.

How unreliable are Blackberry devices? Do they break so frequently that someone needs to purchase multiple devices throughout the years.

That whole passage from the FBI report should raise a giant read flag for OPsec.

https://i.sli.mg/TkpQru.png

• Monica Hanley, a former Clinton aide, often purchased replacement Blackberry devices for Clinton during her tenure at State. ¹⁵³
  
• Hanley recalled purchasing most of the BlackBerry devices for Clinton from AT&T stores located in the Washington, D.C. area. ¹⁵⁴
  
• Whenever Clinton acquired new mobile devices, Cooper was usualy responsible for setting up the new devices and syncing them to the server. ¹⁵⁵
  
• Abedin, { REDACTED }, and Hanley also assisted Clinton with setting up any new devices. ¹⁵⁶
  
• According to Abedin, it was not uncommon for Clinton to use a new BlackBerry for a few days and then immediately switch it out for an older version with which she was more familiar. ¹⁵⁷
  
• Clinton stated that when her BlackBerry device malfunctioned, her aides would assist her in obtaining a new BlackBerry, and, after moving to a new device, her old SIM cards were disposed of by her aides. ¹⁵⁸
  
• Cooper advised he sometimes assisted users, including Clinton, when they obtained a new mobile device by helping them back up the data from the old device before transferring it to the new device and synicing the new device with Clinton's server. ¹⁵⁹
  
• Abedin and Hanley indicated the wereabouts of Clinton's devices would frequently become unknown once she transitioned to a new device ^160,161
  
• Cooper did recall two instances where he destroyed Clinton's old mobile devices by breaking them in half or hitting them with a hammer. ¹⁶²
  

Even if the Hillary's devices were made inoperable, if NAND flash chips are undamaged, the chips can be desoldered from a circuit board (Blackberry, iPad, etc) and read. Similar arguements apply to SD and SIM cards.

Hitting with a hammer or breaking in half is not sufficient.

I'd wager Cooper's sanitization procedure wasn't up to NIST SP 800-88 protocol from 2006 or rev1 (2014), which requires incineration or grinding Flash into pulverized (powder) material. Flash is more "challenging" to sanitize as NIST points out in part due to reserve blocks and wear leveling algorithms that spread data across the storage device requiring full wipe.

NIST SP 800-88 (2006)

Cell Phones

Clear:	Manually delete all information, such as calls made, phone numbers, then perform a full manufacturer’s reset to reset the cell phone back to its factory default settings. ** Please contact the manufacturer for proper sanitization procedure.
Purge:	Same as Clear.
Destroy:	* Shred
	* Disintegrate
	* Pulverize
	* Incinerate by burning cell phones in a licensed incinerator.

Compact Flash Drives, SD

Clear:	Overwrite media by using agency approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools
Purge:	See Physical Destruction.
Destroy:	Destroy media in order of recommendations.
	* Shred
	* Disintegrate
	* Pulverize
	* Incinerate by burning in a licensed incinerator.

Flash Cards

Clear:	Overwrite media by using agency approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools
Purge:	Same as Clear.
Destroy:	* Shred
	* Disintegrate
	* Pulverize

Appendix B. Glossary

Glossary Term	Definition
Shred	A method of sanitizing media; the act of cutting or tearing into small particles.
Disintegration	A physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of separating into component parts.
Pulverization	A physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of grinding to a powder or dust.
Incineration	A physically destructive method of sanitizing media; the act of burning completely to ashes. "

---

NIST SP 800-88 rev1 (2014)

Embedded Flash Memory on Boards and Devices This includes motherboards and peripheral cards such as network adapters or any other adapter containing non-volatile flash memory.

Clear:	If supported by the device, reset the state to original factory settings.
Purge:	N/A If the flash memory can be easily identified and removed from the board, the flash memory may be Destroyed independently from the disposal of the board that contained the flash memory. Otherwise, the whole board should be Destroyed.
Destroy:	Shred, Disintegrate, Pulverize, or Incinerate by burning the device in a licensed incinerator.
Notes:	While Embedded flash memory has traditionally not been specifically addressed in media sanitization guidelines, the increasing complexity of systems and associated use of flash memory has complementarily increased the likelihood that sensitive data may be present. For example, remote management capabilities integrated into a modern motherboard may necessitate storing IP addresses, hostnames, usernames and passwords, certificates, or other data that may be considered sensitive. As a result, for Clearing, it may be necessary to interact with multiple interfaces to fully reset the device state. When this concept is applied to the example, this might include the BIOS/UEFI interface as well as the remote management interface. As with other types of media, the choice of sanitization technique is based on environment- specific considerations. While the choice might be made to neither Clear nor Purge embedded flash memory, it is important to recognize and accept the potential risk and continue to reevaluate the risk as the environment changes.

Blackberry (back up data on device before sanitization)

Clear:	BB OS 7.x/6.x - Select Options > Security Options > Security Wipe , making sure to select all subcategories of data types for sanitization. Then type “blackberry” in the text field, then click on “Wipe” (“Wipe Data” in BB OS 6.x) BB OS 10.x (Decrypt media card before continuing) Select Settings, Security and Privacy, Security Wipe . Type “blackberry” in the text field, then click on “Delete Data”. The sanitization operation may take as long as several hours depending on the media size. Sanitization performed via a remote wipe should be treated as a Clear operation, and it is not possible to verify the sanitization results.
Purge:	BB OS 7.x/6.x - Select Options > Security > Security Wipe, then make sure to select all subcategories of data types for sanitization. Then type “blackberry” in the text field, then click on “Wipe” (“Wipe Data” in BB OS 6.x). For BB OS 10.x Select Settings> Security and Privacy>Security Wipe. Type “blackberry” in the text field, then click on “Delete Data”. The 28NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 Guidelines for Media Sanitization sanitization operation may take as long as several hours depending on the media size.
Destroy:	Shred, Disintegrate, Pulverize, or Incinerate by burning the device in a licensed incinerator.
Notes:	Following the Clear/Purge operation, manually navigate to multiple areas of the device (such as browser history, files, photos, etc.) to verify that no personal information has been retained on the device. Centralized management (BES) allows for device encryption. Refer to the manufacturer for additional information on the proper sanitization procedure, and for details about implementation differences between device versions and OS versions. Proper initial configuration using guides such as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) (http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/) helps ensure that the level of data protection and sanitization assurance is as robust as possible. If the device contains removable storage media, ensure that the media is sanitized using appropriate media- dependent procedures.