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Your discarded mobile phone could now land you in trouble

Dubai - According to Neil, UAskME and other professional data destruction companies use a process that goes through forensic laboratories in which data is completely destroyed and an automated certificate is generated which shows that everything is gone.

Experts are warning that discarded mobile phones, laptops and tablets often contain large amounts of private data, even when owners think that data has been properly erased.
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"Anything that bears data - even smart watches - contain data, and that has a value to you and to whoever access to that information," said Ken Neil, the director of UAskME, a Dubai-based data destruction company.
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"In this part of the world, there could be pictures of yourself or your children, passport copies or Emirates IDs," he added. "Realistically, everything a cybercriminal needs is in the palm of your hand."
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Neil added that in the case of companies or organisations, improperly discarded electronics may contain entire contact lists or sensitive, private e-mail exchanges between employees. Some statistics have shown that as many as 80 per cent of second-hand devices still contain data from a previous user.
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"Unless you are a forensic expert or an IT expert, you can't prove that everything is gone," he noted.
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Additionally, Neil noted that there remains a general lack of knowledge on the proper security procedures necessary for the disposal of devices.
"There is an absolute lack of awareness, not just in the UAE. It's a global issue," he said. "People rely on the factory reset, without realising what it actually can and can't deliver."
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According to Neil, UAskME and other professional data destruction companies use a process that goes through forensic laboratories in which data is completely destroyed and an automated certificate is generated which shows that everything is gone.
Exact figures for the number of discarded cell phones, tablets and laptops do not exist, but these items account for a large portion of electronic waste in the UAE.
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According to global statistics compiled by various agencies through the "solving the e-waste problem" (StEP) initiative, in 2014 the UAE produced an average of 17.2kg of electronic waste per inhabitant, a total of about 101 metric tonnes in a year - the highest total amount of all the countries of the GCC.
The numbers, however, pale in comparison to 2012, when the UAE generated 29.28kg of e-waste per inhabitant, a total of 162.11 metric tonnes.
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According to Neil, the reduction can be explained by the nature and size of the devices being replaced, rather than by growing awareness of the potential dangers.
"At that time, many people were getting rid of desktop computers, some of which were easily 30kg. A vast majority of the total tonnage would have been larger monitors," he said.
"The volume of units hasn't decreased, but the hardware has," he added. "Now, lots of people don't have desktops, and may or may not have a laptop, but unless you are working in IT, a phone is perfectly adequate and a tablet should suffice."
Neil noted that as newer models of devices such as the iPhone 7 become available in the market and older devices are replaced, it becomes less costly for criminals to get their hands on them.
"The cost of older devices is driven down, so it becomes cheaper to buy second hand devices," he said. "It's an everyday process. Cybercrime is basically a job."
Environmental and Health Issues
In addition to being a privacy concern, improperly discarded devices can harm the environment, as they contain potentially harmful substances such as cadmium, lead, beryllium and flame retardants.
"One cell phone can pollute up to 600,000 litres of water. It's horrendously polluting," Ken Neil said. "There are so many heavy metals and toxic substances involved in the creation of circuit boards, and there is no way to get the stuff out of the system once it's in there. If that gets leaked into the earth and the water we consume, that's a problem."
A 2012 study of e-waste handling, for example, found that one airborne toxin was present in 100 times a larger quantity than previously measures in the Chinese city of Guiyu, and significant quantities of cadmium, copper and lead were found in rice paddies and other agricultural areas.
MUST KNOW

• Possible data that could be left in gadgets even after factory reset: Personal gadgets - Photos, passport copies, Emirates IDs, bank logins etc.
• Company gadgets - Official contact lists, sensitive information, private e-mail exchanges between employees etc.
• 80% second-hand devices still contain data from a previous user