August 29, 2005
Delete phone data before getting rid of cell
Privacy Risks of Used Cell Phones
Ignore the corporate sleaziness by Cingular for the moment — they sold used cell phones meant for charity — and focus on the privacy implications. Cingular didn’t erase any of the personal information on the used phones they sold.
This reminds me of Simson Garfinkel’s analysis of used hard drives. He found that 90% of them contained old data, some of it very private and interesting.
Erasing data is one of the big problems of the information age. We know how to do it, but it takes time and we mostly don’t bother. And sadly, these kinds of privacy violations are more the norm than the exception. I don’t think it will get better unless Cingular becomes liable for violating its customers’ privacy like that.
Now, I’m not really all that worried that someone will get the *sensitive data* off my cellphone. I don’t have hotline numbers to the President or anything like that. It won’t be the treasure-trove of info that you’d find if you hacked Paris Hilton’s Sidekick.
But it is an important point. It won’t cause a problem for 99.9% of people, but if someone with an eye for identity theft happens to get a hold of your phone after you get rid of it, just what data might they come up with? Do you text-message a lot? Do you browse the web from your phone? Could personal data provide a way for someone to steal your identity?
Even if you think it’s unlikely, it’s worth making sure you take care of it. If you are upgrading your phone, donating it to charity, or even throwing it in the trash, make sure you take some time to delete the data. Copy down all the phone numbers you have stored. (This is a good idea anyway, as many of us store these numbers only on our phones, and would not be able to call anyone if we lost our cellphone.) Delete all the personal data you can, especially important if you have a Treo, Blackberry, or other advanced phone. You may never get bit by the identity theft folks, but is it worth taking that chance?
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Brad, On my phone, I use it for two things, I make a call and I answer a call. Unlil recently I didn’t even have numbers stored on it. My middle daughter put a few numbers on there for me and she is teaching me how to do it. There is no sensitive data on my phone. I can see where there could be a problem if you use your phone for more than that. I don’t even have one of those fancy picture phones. I guess I’m a little teck challanged.