As time passes, it is disturbing to see how many people still have a casual attitude towards their personal data, despite the constant stream of cyber incidents and large data breaches in the headlines. Millions of accounts and sensitive personal information have been compromised, but the general public's attitude towards data security remains carelessly lax.
SD cards
Take SD cards, for example, as portable storage medium. These minuscule yet mighty gadgets are immensely useful, allowing us to carry vital data like images, messages, and recordings. But since it's so simple to store personal data on these cards, security breaches frequently occur.
When these cards are sold or handed on to others, a prevalent issue arises. Many people do not properly erase their private information, which might remain accessible to the new owner. Regular file deletion does not ensure safety, because data recovery tools can frequently recover what was believed to be gone for good. Surprisingly, some people do not even care to erase their data before handing the cards on, exposing their sensitive information.
SD cards are frequently mistakenly included in the sale of mobile phones and tablets. This omission, along with a general lack of concern, poses a serious risk. Furthermore, company data is occasionally left on these devices, unnoticed by security agencies and personnel.
A study undertaken by the University of Hertfordshire a few years ago brought this issue to the forefront. Researchers bought roughly 100 discarded memory cards from eBay and used phone stores, then attempted to extract data from them. These cards have been utilised in a variety of devices, including phones, tablets, cameras, and drones.
Selfies, document images, contact information, browsing history, and much more sensitive items were discovered in the retrieved data. This data is easily exploitable by criminals, revealing a significant disparity between public recognition of the importance of data security and actual user behaviour.
Hard drives
The Techradar group carried out a study on old hard drives in 2008. They analysed the contents of the drives they bought from internet stores like eBay. The results were alarming: a significant quantity of private information, including records and images, could still be retrieved.
Smartphones
Similarly, Avast's investigation of used smartphones in 2014 identified an identical issue. Despite the fact that many users thought they had wiped their phones clean, over 40,000 images, including sensitive ones, and financial data were discovered on these devices.
The aforementioned studies point to a significant knowledge gap regarding digital data security that most people have. Using smartphones' "Restore and reset to factory settings" feature alone does not ensure that personal data is completely erased and permanently lost. Experts in data recovery and hackers can frequently retrieve data that regular commercial tools are unable to. In simple cases, even well-known software tools can retrieve files; however, if a hacker is committed and has the necessary resources, they can go much further.