When repurposing servers that contain sensitive customer data, the appropriate action to take is:
C. Carry out a sanitization process that includes multiple passes of overwriting and degaussing.
Explanation:
1. Sanitization is the process of removing data from a storage device, such as servers, to ensure that sensitive information cannot be recovered.
2. Multiple passes of overwriting involve writing over the data on the servers several times with random patterns to make it nearly impossible to retrieve the original information.
3. Degaussing is a method of erasing data from magnetic storage media by using a strong magnetic field to disrupt the magnetic particles on the disks, rendering the data unrecoverable.
By combining both overwriting and degaussing in the sanitization process, the financial institution can effectively protect the sensitive customer data on the servers before repurposing them for other use, ensuring data security and confidentiality.