Disqus
A study which combed over 160 BlackBerrys revealed that many of them still had sensitive information such as financial, banking, and corporate details still on them. Based on what they could dig up, the researchers could figure out who the employer and previous owner were on a quarter of the devices, while while the data on 43% of the devices could threaten the companies in question. This is fairly surprising, since enterprise IT admins have the ability to remotely wipe BlackBerrys so long as the server software is up to date. If BlackBerry, one of the most security-conscious handsets out there, is having issues keeping sensitive material under wraps, I wonder how other platforms would fare in a similar study.
“These everyday items now contain sophisticated digital memory capable of storing huge amounts of sensitive data. Organisations must ensure that adequate procedures are in place to destroy any data and to check that these procedures are effective.” [said Andy Jones, head of information security research at BT, in a statement supporting the study].
Let this be a lesson to all of you selling off old phones – be sure to wipe ‘em good and proper beforehand, especially if it’s a company device.
[via TechCentral]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
