Sensitive data still on second-hand hard disks
Posted 14 August 2006 at 2:10PM by Derek Hemphill in Internet security
What did you do with your old computer last time you upgraded?
Research jointly conducted between BT, the University of Glamorgan and Edith Cowan University in Australia shows an alarming amount of sensitive data still exists on discarded or second-hand computer hard disk drives.
Over three hundred second-hand hard drives from around the world were examined. Data found included payroll information, mobile telephone numbers, copies of invoices, employee names and photos, IP addresses, network information, illicit audio and video files, and financial details including bank and credit card accounts.
The research highlights that most of us are not doing enough to protect ourselves when disposing of data storage equipment. In some cases, organisations could be breaking the law.
BBC's Real Story, to be broadcast tonight on BBC One, also features an investigation into hard drives exported to Nigeria from the UK which still contained personal information. It seem that some of these drives came from UK recycling plants and in one case the reporter was even able to trace the original owner of one of the drives using the data left on it.
So we all need to think about what's left on our hard drives before getting rid of them. Besides beating them into a thousand pieces with a hammer, what else can be done to prevent prying data thieves pinching our details?
Deleting files or quick-formatting the drive is not secure enough as it's easy for lost files to be 'undeleted' or recovered. It is possible to securely wipe the contents of a hard drive using a free software programme such as Darik's Boot and Nuke from Sourceforge.net. You can also visit www.howtowipeyourdrive.com for more options.
Tags: BBC, hard drives, ID theft, security
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