Vertical Markets

Thrown away IT needs data wipe

by Mark Rowe

Most tech hardware – including such old basics as printers and fax machines – will have confidential data on them that needs to be wiped, but many employers are not aware of this, according to an IT asset disposal company.

DSA Connect, which specialises in the deletion and destruction of electronic data, points to a survey that found that 20pc of people in work say their employers have disposed of various IT hardware over the past 12 months, but only a minority, 40pc said they didn’t think this had confidential data on it. The employees interviewed said 42pc of the disposed tech hardware went to a professional company that specialises in the disposal of IT and the erasure of data on it. One in four (25pc) said the IT hardware was sold, but it was not reviewed before this to ensure it didn’t have any data on it that needed to be wiped first. One in ten staff said it was simply thrown away while 8pc said the equipment was physically destroyed.

Harry Benham, Chairman of DSA Connect said: “Our research shows just how much technology is disposed of by employers each year. However, our findings cast great doubt on how well this hardware is disposed of, and whether the data held on it has been properly erased.”

About the survey

DSA Connect commissioned the market research company Consumer Intelligence to interview 1,029 people between October 16 and 18, 2020. Those interviewed represented the demographic profile of the UK. Some 614 people interviewed were in work.

The company was set up in 2011 to partner the Ministry of Defence in developing the MoD’s asset disposal service. Visit https://www.dsa-connect.co.uk.

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