Disk Utility - 3 Pass Erase

Question

Just for my curiosity and knowledge,

I read on a book that Disk Utility can erase a Volume/Partition by using different option of security.

Among these options there is one called: 3 Pass Erase, that writes two passes of random data followed by a single pass of known data to the disk.

According to Apple, this option meets US Department of Energy. What does the US Department of Energy have to do with secure erasing data? Do they control the security standard? I thought was the Department of Defense that control the standards.

Thank you

Answer 1

The 3 pass erase method, where two passes are random data and one is known data is listed in DoE M 205.1-6. The DoE among their other sensitive operations, designs, tests, and builds the US nuclear arsenal. Different agencies often develop different methods to achieve same results.

Also, I don't think either agency uses either of those methods anymore.