07Mar

What can go wrong?

Posted on 7th March, 2018

In the modern age, we are being constantly inundated about stories of large firm’s websites being hacked, identity theft being committed and people being conned out of money because fraudsters have got hold of their old data.

That’s why it’s a good idea to never keep old data on any computers when you are replacing or recycling them. Read on to find out some of the things that could happen if you don’t dispose of your old data correctly. We’ll also look at a case study of a big company facing these issues to show what could happen.

Hacking

Hacking is a big issue right now and if someone gets hold of any of your old computers, they could gain access to all your company, workforce and client information. In 2017, the cab company Uber was hacked. Over 2.7 million customers had information such as names, addresses and licence plates stolen. Uber did not deal with this very well and unbelievably paid the hackers £100,000 to cover it up. They had not encrypted their data properly and because of this, they put millions of people’s financial security and identities at risk. Don’t be like Uber, make sure your data is encrypted and if you are disposing of old machines, employ professionals to make sure they are wiped clean.

Identity fraud

Identity fraud is another massive issue. We put so much information about ourselves online these days it’s easy for fraudsters to get your information and pretend to be you to either steal money or use your name and details for other nefarious purposes. To prevent this you should make employees aware that they should limit what they post online and don’t store personal data on shared computers.

Financial theft

Financial theft is rife and if fraudsters can get hold of your data, they’ll use it to empty bank accounts and take out loans and credit cards in your name. Financial data should be stored safely, securely and in accordance with the data protection act for maximum security. Again, if you are disposing of old computers, it is best to make sure the data is cleaned by professionals to prevent this happening to your business.

If you are disposing of old computer equipment and want to make sure none of the above happens to your company, contact AssetCare today. We specialise in computer reuse & recycling, hard drive wiping, data overwriting and computer disposal. We always try to reuse rather than dispose of if we can, employing a professional firm to do this could save you thousands.