Hard Drives Could Lead to Hard Times on Digital Output Devices

There was a recent interview on CBS News linking the relatively unknown dangers of sensitive data and digital output devices. In the segment, used multifunctional devices were being bought and sold through a warehouse in NJ. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong!

Since 2002, nearly every digital printer contains a hard drive, similar to that of a computer. Every time a page is printed, emailed, scanned or faxed from that device, a digital copy is stored. Think about how many times you printed reports that contained proprietary company data; customer data; made copies of personal documents like your Social Security card, Birth Certificate, health records. Then, the lease comes up, or a printer is traded in, and out walks all of that sensitive information. This data can be accessed by removing the hard drive from the printer or copy machine and connecting it to a PC or an erasure station. That is like removing the password from your laptop, leaving all your personal/professional information on it, then selling it.

This might be happening at your office, but also as you take trade-in devices from your customer, it is something to keep in mind. Depending on the printer manufacturer, there are a variety of revenue generating and free solutions that will permanently and completely erase the hard drive. Smells like new revenue opportunity to me! This is also an opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors. By taking the time to educate your customers, whether you take the onus on yourself to always erase the drives or sell a solution for your customer to do it first, you are one-step closer to being a solutions partner… not just another copier guy.

Methods to permanently delete these electronically stored copies include software-based solutions, degaussing solutions (erasing), and even physical destruction of the hard drive. Software solutions are available from the printer manufacturer as well as 3rd party solutions. The methodology of the software solution varies greatly, and I would suggest talking to the print manufacturers of the lines you carry for more information.

Even if you are saying, “Of course, I knew this already.” Many of your customer’s don’t, so it’s a compelling reason to get your customer to accept a meeting about it. From there, you have a captive audience, I’m sure, so the door is open to also selling other products and solutions.