If one of your employees has upgraded a digital device lately, your sensitive corporate data could end up in the hands of whomever acquires the cast-offs. So says a new study that found 40 percent of phones, tablets, and laptops available for resale still contained personally identifiable information (PII).
Using only basic techniques and downloadable shareware on more than 250 devices bought on the second-hand market, researchers for the National Association for Information Destruction were able to extract PII such as usernames and passwords, corporate information, tax details, and credit card numbers. That they could do this without resorting to specialized forensic techniques should be a warning: no device should leave your possession until it’s been completely and securely erased. When you dispose of unwanted devices, you shouldn’t give away PII as a free bonus.
For help maintaining control over your data, call Xantrion to talk about access control and mobile device management.