A Snoop for Digital Dirt
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By NATALIE STOREY, PHOTO BY NATALIE GUILLN  Sheriff's new forensics lab digs deep into electronics for criminal evidence  Snoop:  Lab's already helped nab an offender  They keep Dirty Salli in a small windowless room that used to be a storage closet.
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(InfoWorld) - Hard drives full of confidential data are still turning up on the second-hand market, researchers have reported. Investigations carried out on behalf of BT by the University of Glamorgan in the U.K., Edith Cowan University in Australia, and Longwood University in the U.S., found that 37 percent of drives surveyed had traces of personal data on them. Damningly, this figure is much the same as it was for the same surveys undertaken by the universities in each of the last two years, suggesting that either companies are ignoring the issue or simply lack the tools to adequately wipe data before resale. Sensitive information retrieved included salary details, financial data of specific companies, credit card numbers, medical data, visa applications, details of online purchases, and inevitably, online pornography. The sample totalled 350 hard drives acquired in online auctions. "Given the level of exposure that the subjects of security and identity theft has received in recent times, and the availability of suitable tools to ensure the safe disposal of information, it is difficult to understand why disks are still not being effectively cleaned before they are disposed off," said BT's security research head, Dr Andy Jones. "When organizations dispose off surplus and obsolete computers and hard disks, they must ensure that adequate procedures are in place to destroy any data and also to check that the procedures that are in place are effective -- whether they are handled by internal resources or through a third party contractor," he said. The full report -- which has yet to be made publically available -- reveals that buying second-hand disks is an unreliable way to get hold of storage. Of the 133 disks bought in the U.K., 44 percent of them didn't even work. But of those that did, 19 percent had enough information on them to identify the organization from which they had come, 65 percent had enough data to identify named people, and 17 percent contained "illicit" data. Techworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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By Anonymous  WAN lessons learned  Plus: How to hide your online footprints.
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The way federal agents search digital devices, such as laptops and BlackBerries, has come under scrutiny in a new lawsuit. "Our position is there should be some suspicion of wrongdoing before the government can search," an attorney says. The government stands by its searches.
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Ads and adware have a new way to get on your computer--through files that appear to be music and video.
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While most mobiles find their way to the trash heap after only a year or two, these decadent devices need their own security details. By Rob Beschizza.
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Company also unveils a device that allows digital photographers to bypass the PC.
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Hand-held devices help settle disputes. (Look it up!)
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Industry group will offer a free program to help users find and eliminate illegal files.
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Networks of low-res cameras and sensors could monitor urban environments for diverse data -- traffic flow, pollutants, structural integrity -- online. By the Associated Press.
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Researchers create digital paper that emits recorded sound in response to a user's touch.
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An online tool makes it easier to dig up your broker's dirt.
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The company's Desktop Search utility is an impressive way to find information on your computer.
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Ask hopes a tool which erases search history will prove a winner with consumers concerned about privacy.
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Ever wish you could see inside more than one folder at a time? You can. Here&#146;s how.
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Have adware and spyware commandeered your computer? An extreme solution: erasing your hard drive and starting over.
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Sifting through millions of documents to locate a valuable few is tedious enough, but what happens when those files are scattered across different repositories?