There’s nothing like the feeling of starting up a new computer for the first time. It’s like a fresh, clean slate just waiting for you to fill with information. But before you get too excited about your new start, it might pay to stop for a minute and think about all of the things you wrote on your old slate before you throw it out. Researchers at MIT recently tested 158 used hard drives, 130 of which had been wiped “clean” before undergoing testing. On those machines, the researchers found over 5,000 credit card numbers, which goes to show just how much personal information can be recovered from our old hard drives, even after they’re supposedly “erased.”
In fact, over 60 percent of computers turned over to data removal specialists still contain private data after processing.
And it’s not just computers that we need to worry about. Printers, scanners, copiers, cell phones, CDs and USB storage devices all contain sensitive information that must be disposed of responsibly. I know I don’t want some random identity thief to wind up with my old tax records or, worse, pictures and information about my kids.
Corporate data storage devices, in particular, have valuable information that could be detrimental to the company in the wrong hands. In addition to detailed corporate financial records, the MIT team also recovered a year’s worth of ATM transactions.
With that in mind, the best part about starting up a fresh computer might just be the knowledge that the data on your old one has been well and properly destroyed.
