Almost a third of business PCs are binned with sensitive data

Just under a third of business PCs are discarded containing sensitive data and it's not just the smaller players who are oblivious to the associated risks, according to research published this week.

The survey of 300 businesses, commissioned by Lenovo, reveals worrying lapses in data security in even the largest of firms. Three out of 10 IT managers admit that they have "possibly, probably or definitely" left data on a decommissioned PC. And most still incorrectly believe that simply formatting a hard disk will wipe off the data.

Lenovo claims that, despite several high profile incidents of data theft, companies are still not taking disk wiping seriously enough. "We all know the risks - we've all heard the horror stories. Maybe it's not at the very top of their [IT managers'] priority lists," said Ian Jeffs, business operations director at Lenovo. "It's definitely becoming a bigger priority."

Lenovo, which has offered disk wiping software to its customers for three years now, is "not sure" why companies continue to take such risks with their data, Jeffs admits.

Companies also have little idea about what's being stored on their computers. Over half said any type of file could be stored on an employee's hard drives, including sensitive financial or legal information on laptops.

And only eight per cent of medium sized firms and 10 per cent of large businesses order employees to regularly clean up or audit the data stored on their PCs.

Lenovo customers can download the Secure Data Disposal ThinkVantage software from the company's website. Jeffs claims the software offers a "level seven security wipe" that meets US military standards.

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