Companies risk data theft with old computers

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Less than half of UK companies bother to take precautions when disposing of old computers containing sensitive data, according to a new survey.

The study of 329 large UK companies, employing 2,000 staff or more, found that most companies sold old computers onto second-hand dealers or to staff instead of using professional disposal companies. The survey, carried out by encryption company Pointsec, found that only 17 per cent of respondents destroyed data stored on hard disks on their premises.

Less than one in five of IT professionals (16 per cent) worried about data on hard drives but admitted there was little they could do as their employers did not have policies on disposing of hard disks full of company data. Lack of time and resources were two of the main reasons as to why companies didn't bother securing their organisation's devices against theft or loss.

"We've all heard about PCs thrown away in UK council tips that have ended up in West Africa with local extortionists and opportunists selling the contents such as bank account details for less than £20," said Martin Allen, managing director of Pointsec. "Many corporations can also fall victim to this sort of scam by selling their old PCs to second hand dealers who often don't have the skills or resources to reformat and clean them adequately."

He recommended that companies reformat hard drives or encrypt information on disks to ensure that data didn't fall into the wrong hands.

"If you have really sensitive data on your device and you really don't trust any sort of software then your best bet is to burn or smash the hard-drive," he said.

The survey found that only 27 per cent of companies bothered to make an insurance claim when devices got lost or stolen. Only seven per cent secured information stored on devices.

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