October 2019
Published by Cyber Defense Magazine
What happens to our beloved tech devices when they die? Wouldn’t it be great if the answer was as simple and pleasant as “they go to Tech Heaven?” Unfortunately, the truth is: it depends. The end-of-life journey for connected devices can best be described as three possible scenarios – the good, the bad, and the ugly. The “good” happens when discarded electronics are properly disposed of, recycled, and reused to create new components for innovative gadgets. The “bad” occurs when our treasured doohickeys are improperly dumped in landfills or warehouses, where they slowly leak toxic chemicals that pollute our ecosystem and poison our water supply. And the “ugly” can befall our junked technology when equipment is sold on the black market, and hacked by malicious actors to retrieve our sensitive personal data…
Obviously, the landscape of corporate responsibility as it relates to e-disposal has changed immensely. Jason Hogg, CEO of Aon’s Cyber Solutions articulates it as follows: “The proper disposal of connected devices is a critical component of a best-in-class cyber resilience strategy. These devices could easily contain customer data, IP, or even access points back into an enterprise. Increasingly, we see disposal becoming an issue beyond just a cyber threat. There are critical compliance and regulatory considerations when adopting an appropriate hygiene plan. Consequently, the environmentally thoughtful destruction of devices, where data storage components are permanently destroyed and critical alloys and materials are recycled is a must.”
Read the full article here.
