CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian did an interesting report last night on the privacy exposure from digital photocopiers. Here’s what happens:
- Digital photocopiers built since 2002 essentially are computers that scan and print documents. These copiers have a hard drive that stores these scanned images.
- The photocopiers apparently save these scanned images for a period of time.
- Some copier manufacturers do not encrypt their images on the hard drive.
- The images are not necessarily erased when the lease is up on the copier and it’s returned to the leasing company.
- The next person that buys the used copier could possibly retrieve these images!
As part of the CBS News investigation, they purchased several used copiers from a New Jersey warehouse. Using a free software utility, they easily retrieved tens of thousands of documents from the copiers, including pay stubs with social security numbers, lists of sex offenders and drug raid targets from a Buffalo police department, and medical records from an insurance company.
This should give pause to anyone who makes copies anywhere — especially in an environment where they can’t control what happens after the copy is made. For example, in their work office, a public library, or an office supply store like OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples, FedEx Office.
Mike Beato combines expertise in creative website design, technical skills, information architecture, productivity and future thinking as a consultant, speaker and blogger.
