Data Breaches on Discarded Electronic Devices: A Threat to National Security

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): ERI-the leading U.S. recycler of electronic waste has raised alarm over the record jump in data breaches on discarded electronic devices, reported in New York during the previous year. It warns that the high data breach incidents are “just the beginning’ and they can turn out to become a significant threat to national security.

Commenting on the issue, John Shegerian, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, ERI noted that the record number of breaches in 2017 is only the “tip of the iceberg”. The data hacking from discarded hardware components have risen exponentially, mainly because most of the organizations that claim to recycle electronics after safe data destruction actually don’t do so. Instead the devices are shipped abroad, he noted. It is advisable that devices recycled responsibly and in the right way within the U.S.

The New York Attorney General’s Office had recently announced that it received record complaints of data hacks in 2017. A total of 1,583 data breaches were recorded during the year, which is the highest in its history.