Client Information Security Helping Organizations Protect Private Client Data

Digital Copiers are a Security Risk

Digital copiers built since 2002 contain hard drives that store images of every document copied or scanned. Many of the stored documents include confidential data, leaving individuals vulnerable to identify theft if no safeguards are in place.

During a CBS News investigation in April 2010 an expert downloaded tens of thousands of documents from old copiers available for sale using a free forensic software program. One copier contained files from a police department sex crimes unit; one contained addresses and social security numbers along with $40,000 in copied checks; and yet another contained 300 pages of individual medical records from a health insurance company.

You can view the video report by Armen Keteyian, “Digital Photocopiers Loaded With Secrets,” (Apr. 19, 2010) by clicking here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6412572n&tag=related;photovideo

Any company that maintains any type of health records have a particularly risky situation if that information is breached. Federal privacy laws including the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) require that employers keep employee health records private.

You might be able to obtain a security or encryption add-on to your copier that will automatically erase images and other data from the copier hard drive. Any organization should make sure that before they allow an old copier to be removed from their premises the hard drive is either removed or completely wiped of all data.