Why Big Tech shreds millions of storage devices it could reuse
7 October 2022
A recent Financial Times longread delves into datacenter storage use, e-waste, data security and Big Tech’s reuse practices (or lack thereof). We share a related tech tip for the rest of us.
Interview: Tech Talk with Marc Saltzman, January 9th
12 January 2022
The first Tech Talk radio show of the year with Marc Saltzman featured a segment with CBL talking about dealing with data disasters, backup tips, data destruction and more.
High-Profile Data Destruction: Snowden Hard Drives Destroyed by Guardian Editors
31 January 2014
Back in July during peak moments of the Edward Snowden leak scandal explosion around the world, the UK’s Guardian newspaper was embroiled in a battle with government about the information in the paper’s possession. Government officials and the GCHQ spy agency threatened injunctions against the paper. Finally staff decided they had to destroy all the computers to prevent their journalists being carted away and measures being taken against the paper.
See footage of the destruction after the jump
E-Waste Recycling up 53 Percent - Remember to Wipe those Drives
19 April 2012
Good news this week comes in an update from the Consumer Electronics Association on their ‘eCycling’ initiative reporting a big increase in electronics recycling – up 53% in the past year! Are you one of the growing number of people that are seeking out drop-off locations for used computers and electronics? Be reminded that you should wipe any hard drive before discarding or recycling it to protect yourself from any potential privacy threats or criminal activity.
Wipe Your Hard Drive, Not Your Brow
28 August 2008
It’s been reported by numerous news sources that UK Bank customers’ details sold for £35 on eBay.
While investigations into the matter continue, MailSource UK – an arm of Graphic Data is not the first organization—public, private or governmental—which has captured such headlines.
Last...
Don't be fooled. Deleting files doesn't remove them.
1 April 2008
The revelation in 2007 that a laptop computer which contained personal information regarding members of the Canadian Alliance party, the predecessor to the Conservative Party, was purchased on eBay is yet another important reminder that sometimes data needs to be destroyed, not simply deleted, especially when computers change hands.
As...
Rare Music Files Rescued from Severely Damaged Hard Drive
5 November 2007
Heads and Tales: Out of the Ashes
When vintage music store, M.C. Productions Vintage Recordings, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada was destroyed in a fire, owner Mickey Clark lost all of the CDs he had compiled from his massive record collection, all of the backup disks from the music files he had digitized, and half of his inventory of 20,000 original recordings dating back to 1902. In addition, both of his hard drives were drowning in two feet of water. To the distraught performer, that meant the possible loss of thousands of music files many of which were Clark’s only copies which he started collecting at the age of eight.
Attention California Residents and CBL Customers
24 October 2007
As wildfires continue to ravage Southern California, CBL Data Recovery’s San Diego County laboratory remains open. CBL reminds computer users throughout the country that data can often be recovered successfully from fire-damaged storage media.
Doug Owens, Managing Director of CBL’s laboratory in El Cajon...
When the Lease Expires, Does the Data?
30 April 2007
So the lease on your laptop has expired? The guy in IT has advised you that they’ll be collecting the old ones and issuing new ones. So you backup your files and data on CDs, DVDs, or USB thumbdrives as every computer user should on a regular,...
