Study Shows Recycled Computers Give Away Our Most Personal Information
Sydney, Australia (PRWEB) February 19, 2014 -- A study commissioned in Australia by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), a non-profit, data protection watchdog agency, has found significant amounts of personal information left on recycled computers. For the organisations recycling their drives, this is a data breach problem. For individuals, their most private information is at risk.
The NAID-ANZ Secondhand Hard Drive Study, completed in January 2014 and published 19 February 2014, showed that 15 of 52 hard drives randomly purchased, approximately 30 percent, contained highly confidential personal information. While seven of the 15 devices were recycled by individuals, eight were recycled by law firms, a government medical facility, and a community centre. These study results come just before the new Privacy Act reforms will be effective 12 March, requiring organisations to safeguard people’s personal information.
“The study is rather simple,” said NAID CEO Bob Johnson. “We randomly purchased 52 recycled computer hard drives from a range of publicly available sources, such as eBay. We then asked a highly reputable forensic investigator, Insight Intelligence Pty. Ltd, to determine whether confidential information was on those drives. The procedure used to find the information is intentionally very basic and did not require an unusually high degree of technical heroics. Had the data been properly erased, it could not have been found.”
Information on the hard drives in the NAID-ANZ study included spreadsheets of clients’ and account holders’ personal information, confidential client correspondence, billing information and personal medical information. For example, Insight Intelligence found an entire email box with numerous emails and attachments relating to the inner most workings of a medical facility. Where the computer hard drives had been previously owned by an individual they contained their confidential personal details, including images of a highly personal nature and account information.
“While it might be tempting to dismiss these results given the sample size,” said Johnson. “It is actually very disturbing. When you consider that the Australian Bureau of Statistics most recent estimates put the number of computers retired annually at over 15 million, the likely amount of private data put at risk in this manner is staggering. People from anywhere in the world can buy these drives online, and you can be sure the ‘bad guys’ amongst them know how to use the information for evil. With the viral nature of social media, one can only imagine what could happen if someone decided to share any highly personal images and videos they have found on these drives.”
Also, where personal information was found, there were indications that someone had attempted to remove the information but failed to effectively do so. Mario Bekes, Insight Intelligence’s managing director, said proper removal of data from computer hard drives requires more than just pressing the delete button.
“Even if they try to do it properly, private individuals and businesses take a big risk by attempting to erase hard drives themselves,” said Bekes. “It is not really a do-it-yourself project.”
Bekes also encourages consumers and businesses to be careful when selecting a recycling service.
“It’s a noble idea to recycle a computer, tablet or smartphone,” said Bekes. “But it’s important to know the recycling company has the proper technical expertise and takes data destruction seriously. Unfortunately, many recyclers treat data removal rather casually.”
“The effective disposal of confidential information is an issue that is easily overlooked,” said Johnson. “We consider it a public service to remind policymakers and consumers of this ongoing vulnerability. Unfortunately, those who capitalise on easy access to this information are already aware of it.”
NAID has offered to provide a detailed report of the results, as well as the hard drives themselves, to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to facilitate an official regulatory inquiry. Should the OAIC decline, the association will ensure the hard drives are securely destroyed to protect those put at risk.
About NAID-ANZ: NAID-ANZ is a chapter of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), the non-profit trade association of the secure destruction industry, currently representing more than 1,900 member locations globally. NAID-ANZ’s mission is to promote the proper destruction of discarded information through education and to encourage the outsourcing of destruction needs to qualified contractors, including those that are NAID certified.
Kristina Carlberg, NAID, http://www.naidonline.org, +1 (602) 788-6243 Ext: 2008, [email protected]
Share this article