Method for discarding personal information in NAND flash memory

A storage device comprising:

• at least one non-volatile memory device including a memory cell array with a plurality of memory blocks including a plurality of cell strings that includes at least one string selection transistor each connected between a bitline and a common source line and, a plurality of memory cells corresponding to the respective wordlines, and at least one ground selection transistor, a row decoder configured to, in response to an address, select a memory block from among the plurality of memory blocks and select a wordline from among the wordlines, a page buffer circuitry including a plurality of page buffers connected to bitlines and connected to a memory cell connected to each of the wordlines, a voltage generator configured to generate wordline voltages applied to the wordlines, and a control logic configured to control the row decoder, the page buffer circuitry, and the voltage generator;
• and
• a controller configured to control the at least one non-volatile memory device, to receive a personal information destruction request from an external host device, and to generate a personal information destruction command in response to the personal information destruction request,
• wherein the controller identifies at least one memory block including an invalid page in which personal information is stored from among the plurality of memory blocks,
• the control logic deletes the personal information by applying at least one deletion duty pulse (DDP) to a wordline corresponding to the invalid page in response to the personal information destruction command, and
• a number of the at least one DDP is determined to exceed an error correction level of an error correction code (ECC).

A method of destroying personal information performed by a storage device including at least one non-volatile memory device and a controller configured to control the at least one non-volatile memory device, the method comprising:

• receiving, by the controller, a personal information destruction request from a host device;
• identifying, by the controller, a page to be deleted in which the personal information is included;
• and
• applying, by the at least one non-volatile memory device, at least one deletion duty pulse (DDP) to a wordline corresponding to the page to be deleted,
• wherein a number of the at least one DDP is determined to exceed an error correction level of an error correction code (ECC).