Photocopy data

What? …wait. It’s a photocopier, the data is in the paper that it prints to, no?

Ummm…No

A typical printer or photocopier built since 2002 has a hard drive and that hard drive stores documents. The big ones, up to 60,000 pages worth.

Think back – where are your old photocopier hard drives?

Now panic

Where did your unit go, the last one, the one that the new one replaced? Did the supplier take it? Do they re-sell them after they refurbish them? and is part of the process destroying the hard drive?

Probably not.

In the link provided below, you will see how CBS needs were able to expose this problem. The issue in my view is two-fold. First is obvious, that confidential data can be accessed when purchasing a second hand or refurbished unit. 

But the more disturbing point is that the CBS expose was aired in 2010. And I continue to have clients who are not aware of how their old hard drive gets destroyed. 

Bottom line? When somebody removes your old unit – ask for the hard drive. And if you sell it, sell it “as is” less the hard drive.

The hard drive is your data, your customer’s data, erosional data, valuable data if in the wrong hands. Secure it as you would your cash!

As a subscriber to Bottom Line Matters, we can connect you to a reputable company that shreds hard drives. Find the link in the tools section of the website. 

CBS News Link