Serious Privacy issue

[Basil]

Copy machines a security risk!

 

[BabaKahawa]

I can't tell you how upset this kind of things gets me.... you try so hard to protect all
of your own information that you handle in any given day, and then you hear this....
drives me nuts!!!!!
$500.00 for a devise that will erase the information... come on, can't cost $1.00 to produce.
Every machine should have the ability to erase after each use.....................

 

[Brooklands]

I had seen this a few weeks ago. Although my small business never used digital machines, my accountant, most doctors,and others we depend on use digital machines. It is quite scary. And think of all those people who photocopied their body parts...

 

[DrEntropy]

We're "leaking" data like a spaghetti sieve on a daily basis. Once your "private" info is in the hands of a doctor/lawyer/SCHOOL or whatever, you have lost control of it. Period.

The topic of data security is (as the piece suggested) simply not even considered. Not by those entrusted nor the ones voluntarily giving it. For over thirty tears this has been a sore subject with me. And things are only getting worse (or easier, <span style="font-style: italic">depending on your <span style="font-weight: bold">interests</span></span>). Even the lawyers haven't a clue. Had a lawyer client many years back to whom ~I~ had to explain his vulnerability if he'd "shared" a LAN and some software "owned" by a cohabiting law firm... his argument was that it "saved money". Eyes wide shut.

We (as a society) became so giddy over the "convenience" digital gizmos provided, the darker aspects of their capability just faded to a non-concern. Now the genie is decidedly outta th' bottle, has been for more than a decade. He's still "invisible" to most people, too. And more like a Gin than genie.

...and we thought Pearl Harbor and Manhattan were "sneak attacks"!?! feh. Nevermind that comet strike, that'll just KILL ya. Database security breaches are waaay more dangerous: There's HUMANS involved.

:smirk:

 

[GregW]

I don't understand why a copier would even need a hard drive. RAM would be cheaper and would be wiped out every time you turned the machine off. Probably overwritten each time a print job was processed.

 

[DrEntropy]

In a sensible world that would make, errr... sense.

Data mining PAYS. Most high-end copiers (and computers, too) are leased. Most have a NIC in 'em, most connect to a LAN with an accessible Internet connection. You see where this is going... and soon IPv6 will be here to allow <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">MORE</span></span> MAC addy devices.

Call me paranoid.

And just WHO designs/manufactures/sells these machines? What percentage are even looked at once? Too much "convenience" and not enuff responsibility, methinks.

 

[KSIS]

I spent 20 years in supply with the Navy, I think back to all the thing copied. When we would dispose of equipment we had special codes we had to use to de-militarize items.
Never recall this being addressed. SCARY!

 

[Basil]

Some copiers encrypt the data when it is stored. I'm going to bring this to our IT department and make sure they are aware and can take proper actions to protect personal data!

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

After reading this and all the other stuff, I decided to post my SSN and credit card numbers on my facebook account and send them out on tweeter. That way it will not matter if they are "accidentally" leaked because they will already be out there.

 

[DrEntropy]

In a larger company, leased copiers are ~supposed to be~ put in place by IT and the company leasing it... Most IT folks are aware of this, no idea if they follow up when the lease expires and wipe data.

My solution is neither clean nor pretty... HD <span style="font-style: italic">data</span> is proprietary to the lesee. NO drive in a copier is $500. Replace the drive with another "clean" equivalent one and rotate the DB drive to the I.T. department to do a MilSpec data wipe. Next copier out the door gets THAT one. Spending $500 on drives gets five drives from a retail store, labor for the wiping scheme is a "cost of doing business".

How much is your data worth? How much cost would be incurred if it were "compromised" in some way? Those are questions the C.I.O. of any responsible company must consider.

...and don't EVEN get me started with "cloud" data storage!!! :madder: :eeek:

 

[JRC]

I was in the USAF for 21+ years, and in my line of work (still in it) we destroy or sanitize everything, paper and electronic. I even do the same at home!

I don't even put my own info into the big papre shred bin in the office, because I can't be sure that it is really going somewhere to be shredded. If I were the enemy, I would start up such a business.

We don't lease anything but comm lines... And we use encryption on those.

 

[DrEntropy]

We should ALL be that thorough, JRC! :thumbsup:

 

[texas_bugeye]

On a side question to Doc and others I have heard that the conficker virus can be passed on thru printers and USB drives what is your take on this and does wiping the printer HD’s and USB memory sticks and such get rid of it or is it self-defeating just attaching to printers and USB .
The reason I’m asking is with my being on the road so much I’m constantly on somebody’s printer and cringe when they hand me a drive to backup PLC files on there sticks or print tag data bases.
.

 

[Basil]

I brought this up to our IT department today and they informed me that it is there policy to remove and thoroughly scrub all Copier hard drives before returning or disposing of them. I was very glad to hear that!

 

[Guest]

I brought this up to our IT department today and they informed me that it is there policy to remove and thoroughly scrub all Copier hard drives before returning or disposing of them. I was very glad to hear that!

Why, what you been copyin'?????

 

[Basil]

I brought this up to our IT department today and they informed me that it is there policy to remove and thoroughly scrub all Copier hard drives before returning or disposing of them. I was very glad to hear that!

Why, what you been copyin'?????

Nothing that wasn't authorized by my company.