Keep Your Personal Data Off the Market

Posted: May 07, 2010

In 2003, author and security pioneer Simson Garfinkel conducted a study of data he found on second-hand hard drives.

In 2003, author and security pioneer Simson Garfinkel conducted a study of data he found on second-hand hard drives. On eBay, Garfinkel bought the hard drive from an old ATM machine; it held 827 bank account PINs. Another drive he purchased on eBay had previously been owned by a medical center and contained information on 31,000 credit card numbers.

Tony Bradley
PC World

[caption id="attachment_7417" align="alignright"]©Gudellaphoto - Fotolia.com[/caption]In 2003, author and security pioneer Simson Garfinkel conducted a study of data he found on second-hand hard drives. On eBay, Garfinkel bought the hard drive from an old ATM machine; it held 827 bank account PINs. Another drive he purchased on eBay had previously been owned by a medical center and contained information on 31,000 credit card numbers.

That was seven years ago, and the amount of data found on used or resold machines isn't on the downswing. A study published last year by Kessler International found that nearly half of the drives purchased from eBay contained personal data such as e-mail, photos, and confidential documents.

Data, Data, Everywhere

When Garfinkel did his study in 2003, desktop computers still ruled over notebooks; mobile phones were just phones; and gadgets like USB thumb drives, MP3 players, and digital cameras weren't as common as they are now.

To be sure, hard drives remain a serious data security concern today, but your data may also be in places you may not have considered. Case in point: I recently bought a used Chrysler Town & Country minivan decked out with an array of bells and whistles, including a fancy MyGig entertainment system with a 20GB hard drive for storing MP3s and photos. When I began to load the MyGig hard drive with my vast MP3 music library, I discovered that the drive already contained files that the previous owner had failed to remove.

They were just music files--not even music I like--so no compromise of sensitive information existed in this case. However, had the previous owner loaded the MyGig with personal family photos, it could have been another story.

The point is that data resides almost everywhere these days, and you must be vigilant about removing such data before you part with your PC, other gadget, or vehicle. Though excised data is almost always recoverable to some degree, you can take steps to ensure that the average individual buying your used equipment can't access your old files.

Read the entire article on keeping your personal data off the market, and learn what steps to take to protect your information.