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Nearly Half of Used BlackBerrys Still Full of Personal Data

by Terrence O'Brien on October 1, 2008 at 08:10 AM

43% of Used Blackberries Still Contain Sensitive Data
A new study of 160 second-hand BlackBerries has found that a disturbing number of them still contain highly sensitive data. Financial data, banking information, and corporate details were found on 43-percent of the used handsets.

The data on these devices could be potentially devastating to companies if it ever found its way in to the public. On almost a quarter of the devices, researchers were able to determine not just the company, but the specific employee the handset belonged to.

What makes the finding particularly odd is that IT administrators have the ability to remotely erase BlackBerries and the handsets have in-built encryption to protect sensitive data, but many companies don't make use of these features. As we've said before, smart phones actually pose a bigger threat to companies than lost or stolen laptops. It's only a matter of time before a BlackBerry comes back to bite a company in the ass. [From: IntoMobile, Via: Textually.org]

Tags: blackberry, breaking news, BreakingNews, rim, security

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