Editor's Corner

Some of you may have caught a recent article over at CNN about the risks involved in getting rid of an old cell phone or handheld. Whether dumping the device or auctioning it, there are serious risks involved, as some confidential and personal data could still be housed within the device. As the article points out, the majority of cellular devices often still hold private information, even if the user has followed the traditional erasure method to rid the device of data. But thanks to technology easily available over the Internet, lots of data thought to have been erased can be resurrected. As a test scenario illustrates, some pretty sensitive business data and some pretty confidential personal information was recovered from phones and devices bought at an online auction site. It's a major wakeup call for both users and companies as lots of old phones linger in drawers and backrooms or are put up for sale. For me, it's just another reason not to run out and get a new phone anytime soon because I think the safest way to protect such data is to do what one security expert jokingly recommends: have a truck crush it to bits. -Judy