How Obsolete Technology Endangers Your Data

In today’s digital landscape, data security is a top priority for businesses and individuals alike. While many focus on protecting active devices, obsolete technology often gets overlooked, creating a hidden risk for data breaches.

All devices that contain hard drives, from outdated computers and smartphones to legacy servers and external storage, can retain a trove of confidential information long after it’s been retired. Failing to properly dispose of these devices can leave personal, financial, and company data vulnerable to cybercriminals. To them, it’s not junk – it’s a jackpot. Whether through resale, stockpiling, or improper disposal, outdated technology is a liability that organizations can’t afford to ignore.

Securing data on obsolete computers, laptops, smart phones, and other equipment is just as important as protecting data on equipment that is still in use. 

How Obsolete Technology Increases the Risk of a Data Breach

Resale: A Second Life for Your Data – Some organizations decide to re-sell old equipment. When a file is deleted from a hard drive, it isn’t actually erased. As long as the hardware still exists, the sensitive data can be retrieved with data recovering tools. Failing to include old computer hard drives and external hard drives in your information security strategies increases the risk of a security breach.

Stockpiling: A Breach Waiting to Happen – When legacy equipment is put into storage, confidential information on the hard drive is still a target for data thieves. Although some businesses may believe that erasing, wiping, reformatting, or degaussing information is sufficient to protect data on hard drives, before putting them into storage, it’s not. Information thieves can still recover data using specialized software, making proper hard drive destruction essential for data security. Using a secure destruction service, such as Shred-it*, is essential to helping businesses clean out storage facilities regularly and avoid stockpiling old equipment.

Compliance: Your Legal Obligation Doesn’t Expire – Even when a device is no longer in use, compliance regulations still apply. Privacy laws and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation and Law 25 may require some organizations to protect certain sensitive or personal data they use or generate in the workplace for specific time periods or for using particular methodologies. Partnering with an information destruction provider that understands federal and industry-specific regulations helps to ensure that sensitive data is managed securely and legally. Don’t assume compliance ends when a device is no longer in use – it doesn’t.

A Liability You Can’t Afford to Ignore

A company’s old servers and electronics are not just obsolete – they’re high-risk liabilities. Responsible hard drive disposal should be a key component of information security. The only truly secure method of disposal is physical destruction, which includes crushing or shearing hard drives, ensuring that data is irretrievable. Your data destruction partner should provide a certificate of media destruction after each service, guaranteeing compliance and peace of mind.

By identifying the most vulnerable areas for office fraud, you help reduce the risk of data falling into the wrong hands – ensuring that what’s been retired is never brought back to hurt you.

Learn more about how Shred-it^®can help you protect your physical data with secure hard drive destruction services*.

^{*Contact Shred-it® for service availability.}

^{**This article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances.}