Sellers Beware! Your Information Can Be Exposed if Not Properly Destroyed, Deleted or Wiped
Recent Study Finds That Used Electronic Devices Sold Online May Contain Residual Data.
A new global security study performed by Blanco Technology Group and Kroll Ontrack revealed startling information. The examination found varying amounts and types of residual data on used mobile devices, hard disk drives and solid state drives purchased online from Amazon, eBay and Gazelle.com. Out of 122 pieces of second-hand equipment, 48 percent of the hard disk drives and solid state drives contained residual data, while thousands of leftover emails, call logs, texts/SMS/IMs, photos and videos were retrieved from 35 percent of the mobile devices.
Upon further examination, it was discovered that a deletion attempt had been made on 57 percent of the mobile devices and 75 percent of the drives that contained residual data. More compelling was the discovery that those deletion attempts had been unsuccessful due to common, but unreliable methods used, leaving sensitive information exposed and potentially accessible to cyber criminals.
This discovery raises many concerns for all users of technology — can residual data from my resold phone, laptop, computer, server, etc. be used to gather personal and sensitive information by cyber criminals? If you, a business or agency fail to destroy, delete or “wipe” the information properly from these electronic devices — the answer is yes.
