Experts from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK conducted an interesting study commissioned by Comparitech. The researchers checked what would happen if you bought a used flash drive yourself. It turned out that not all users know how to properly and permanently erase their data from the drive. In 1 out of 5 cases, the researchers were even able to “identify” the device’s previous owner.
To conduct this study, the specialists bought a total of 200 used USB drives: 100 in the United States and 100 in the United Kingdom. The devices were purchased from January to May 2018 on eBay, second-hand, and so on.
It turned out that American users were more aware of the need to clean devices before selling them: only one flash drive showed no sign that its owners had tried to erase the data. British users did not even attempt to clean 19 out of 100 devices.
The researchers write that, from the devices acquired, they managed to find the most varied information, including personal data. For example, experts found erotic images of a middle-aged man along with his contact details; legal documents, including a search warrant and risk assessment documents; financial and tax records, as well as payroll; a large amount of personal data about various people. The analysts were thus able to identify the former owners of the USB drives for 20 American devices and 22 British ones.
64 people in the United States and 47 in the United Kingdom still tried to clean their drives before selling them, although they did not succeed very well, simply deleting files and doing nothing more. At the same time, only 8 flash drives from the United States and 16 from the United Kingdom were formatted, although this also allowed the experts to recover information “with minimal effort.” As a result, it turned out that nothing could be extracted from only six drives bought in the United States and one British flash drive.
The experts conclude that users in the United States try to delete data from the drive before selling it in 99% of cases, and in the United Kingdom this figure is 81% of users. At Comparitech, they remind you that before selling or discarding a drive, it is best to perform a simple format, use special software, or physically destroy the device (if it is to be thrown away) with a hammer or a drill.
