Most Used Hard Drives Still Contain Previous Owners’ Data
Experts from the University of Hertfordshire conducted an interesting study commissioned by Comparitech. For this experiment, Comparitech purchased 200 used hard drives—half from the United States and half from the United Kingdom—to test how many of them still contained recoverable information.
The results showed that 59% of all used hard drives available for purchase on eBay and similar platforms were not properly wiped and still contained data from their previous owners.
What Kind of Data Was Found?
The researchers discovered a wide range of confidential and personal information on the drives. This included:
- Employment and salary details of previous owners
- Family and vacation photos
- Business documents
- Visa applications
- Resumes and job applications
- Password lists
- Scans of passports and driver’s licenses
- Tax documents
- Bank statements
- And much more
Statistics from the Study
After testing the 200 hard drives, the results were as follows:
- 26% of the drives were properly wiped, and no data could be recovered from them.
- 26% were formatted, but data could still be recovered with minimal effort.
- 17% contained deleted data that was not difficult to restore.
- 16% of the drives had not been wiped at all before being sold.
- 16% of the drives could not be read.
Comparison Between the UK and the US
When comparing the UK and the US, researchers found that 29% of UK drives showed signs of permanent data deletion, compared to 23% in the US. Additionally, 37% of UK drives were formatted, while only 14% in the US were. Researchers were able to easily recover data from 54% of American drives and 63% of UK drives.
The Situation Is Getting Worse
The researchers noted that a similar study was conducted back in 2007. Comparing the results, it’s clear that the situation has only gotten worse over time. Used hard drives purchased in 2018 contained significantly more “forgotten” data, as shown in the study’s findings.