Social Security Information Sold with Computers at Auction

It was revealed this month that an open auction last year where computers containing confidential information were being auctioned off to the public was halted by New Jersey Comptroller Mathew A. Boxer. Although the auction was managed to be halted by the state it is unclear how many of the computers, 79% of which had hard drives holding drivers’ license numbers, social security numbers and other social service information were sold to the public before it was ended.

‘Although this was in the United States and we in Australia think this sort of thing doesn’t affect us, this is a very common practise in most parts of the world’ says Stuart Boyd, owner of Advance Security Destruction. ‘And we the public have to be aware that this sort of thing happens in Australia as well, where certain departments of the government auction off or sell used office equipment and computers to please a budget. We are not saying that government agencies in Australia have breaches as extreme as this but we do advise that any company wishing to sell or auction off computers containing information that could harm the public should consult with an information security company before doing so’.

Based in Blacktown, Advance Security Destruction is one of Australia’s leading information security providers. Advance provides hard drive shredding, computer recycling and document destruction services to companies in Sydney and to major companies throughout Australia securing the confidential data of some of Australia’s leading companies and government agencies, protecting the general public against identity theft, while upholding brand reputations and information compliance.

For more information on the services that Advance Security Destruction provides visit http://www.advancesecuritydestruction.com.au

Advance security destruction is one of Australia’s leading document destruction, office waste management and disposal companies, specialising in archive destruction, confidential paper shredding and recycling. Our range of secure waste disposal services also includes e-waste removal, data destruction, hard drive shredding, office clear-outs and computer recycling.

Unit 4/44 Bessemer St
Blacktown NSW 2148

This release was published on openPR.