Can you trust your copier???

[charlestudor2005]

CBS reports that digital copiers retain copy images on internal hard drives.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_16...ag=mncol;lst;3

Private information can be made public. Some copiers have been known to have private health care information, others have private student information, still others have payroll information.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_16...-10391695.html

What did you find on your copier? What do you fear is on your copier?

[Guest050715-1]

I’m not surprised. Everything you touch these days stores data to be used [read, stored, manipulated or exploited] – not to be syndical – by someone. The second article said Sharp conducted a study. The study found that 60% of those surveyed knew that copiers stored document data. I don’t know about that. Maybe 60% of the people aren’t surprised, but 60% knew. Wow, why is it news then.

[atlcomedy]

It is kind of scary....

1) When I need to use someone else's printer, I try to use one of the big chains (FedEx Kinkos) that actually have some consumer protection policies (vs. the local corner store)

2) I'm creating a lot less. I scan and save as PDF.

3) Slightly off topic, but I'm always amazedhow lax people are in general at business centers, conference rooms, hotels, clients' offices SHRED SHRED SHRED!!!!

[Sisyphus]

It's actually an old issue. Networked copiers & scanners have been around for a decade or so. Like any device with a hard drive or other storage, they can be examined with forensic software. Like any other drive, information can live in sector "slack" space until it's overwritten.

Delete does not equal gone. Take good care.

[GneissGuy]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6412439.shtml

Note that Sharp knows the problem exists, but instead of fixing the problem, they want to rip you off for an extra $500 to fix the problem.

This is nothing new, it's very easy for the manufacturers to fix, but they just don't care. I hope some mad dog lawyers file class action lawsuits and drive a few companies into bankruptcy.

[Marcus Aurelius]

In the 60's the Russian embassy in D.C. had a Xerox copier.
And they had Xerox maintain it, refill it etc. They never knew there was another camera inside taking pics of everything they copied. .
When it was serviced, the film was removed and replaced.

[Rudyard K]

Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

In the 60's the Russian embassy in D.C. had a Xerox copier.
And they had Xerox maintain it, refill it etc. They never knew there was another camera inside taking pics of everything they copied. .
When it was serviced, the film was removed and replaced.

Is that really true? If so, that is a great story.

[Texas Contrarian]

Originally Posted by Rudyard K

Is that really true? If so, that is a great story.

Yep.

And it certainly is quite a story!

http://www.editinternational.com/rea...=47ddf19823b89

[CyberProf]

I love the naive belief that "consumer protection policies" are there to protect you . . .

[SneakyCancer]

only use my own copier.... someone mentioned scanning...even if you scan and convert to pdf....the document (digital image) to convert is still stored somewhere....many times the buffer or what not.

[atlcomedy]

Originally Posted by windowshopper

only use my own copier.... someone mentioned scanning...even if you scan and convert to pdf....the document (digital image) to convert is still stored somewhere....many times the buffer or what not.

I thought it was implicit, but I use my own scanner

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by windowshopper

only use my own copier.... someone mentioned scanning...even if you scan and convert to pdf....the document (digital image) to convert is still stored somewhere....many times the buffer or what not.

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

I thought it was implicit, but I use my own scanner

Only using your own digital equipment is a good start...but that doesn't protect you from a discovery request or a seizure warrant.

[atlcomedy]

Originally Posted by Sisyphus

Only using your own digital equipment is a good start...but that doesn't protect you from a discovery request or a seizure warrant.

I hadn't really thought about that. I kind of figured if such an occasion occurred by copier/scanner would be the least of my worries (behind my laptop, email accounts etc.)

You know these days, all-in-one machines are going for <$100, with replacement ink costing a good portion of replacement cost for the whole machine, if seizure is something you worry about maybe simply disgarding the machine every time it runs out of ink is a strategy???

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

I hadn't really thought about that. I kind of figured if such an occasion occurred by copier/scanner would be the least of my worries (behind my laptop, email accounts etc.)

ESIs (Electronically Stored Information) are like toys....they expand to fill the space available!

Laptops, email accounts, cell phones, blackberry, digital copier/scanner, network drives, "cloud" file lockers, etc., etc. A well crafted discovery request will ask about all of them. It's always a prudent practice to perform an internal 30(b)(6) on oneself - or one's organization - to determine the universe of places that data - or data "residue" - might potentially reside.

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

You know these days, all-in-one machines are going for <$100, with replacement ink costing a good portion of replacement cost for the whole machine, if seizure is something you worry about maybe simply disgarding the machine every time it runs out of ink is a strategy???

LOL...maybe....if you can assure yourself that you can dispose of the device in such a way that would render the data storage media unrecoverable. If you can figure out how to do THAT....make sure you write an SOP that calls for device destruction in the ordinary course of business. Otherwise, you risk an adverse instruction for deliberate spoliation.

Can I interest anyone in this lovely pencil & a nice clean piece of paper????

[Bluntman]

I am IT site lead at an oil company and come april most of the people are scanning their tax paperwork on the copier at work and sending it to their accountant. most people dont think about security using someone elses equipment and I am sure if you took one of the drives from those copiers it would be full of personal data. when we return the copier we make sure the drives are wiped but I still would never put my own data on it.