Smartphones have become ubiquitous in our culture.
With that rise in popularity comes an increased level of trust we place on the tiny computer we carry around in our pocket. We do everything from accessing our bank account to sending private information to friends and family, and there's even an application that saves all of our passwords in one easy-to-access place. But what happens when you upgrade to a new one?
Mobile phones are commonplace
A study by the Pew Research Center found more than 2 in every 3 Americans have smartphones, and nearly half of everyone in the country has a tablet. That's a lot of cellphones to account for. Unfortunately, not everyone can keep their eye on their property.
The Consumer Reports National Research Center revealed that 2.1 million U.S. citizens suffered a smartphone theft while another 3.1 million were lost. In all honesty, who hasn't lost a cellphone before, right? But now remember the fear that took over as you realized all your personal information was now in the hands of someone else.
People who own a mobile device given to them by their professional organization need to be extra cautious of losing their phone as it could become an easy endpoint for hackers to get into, or could contain thousands upon thousands of files of proprietary information. Even though caution should be abundant, a study by Kensington found a hair over 4 percent of all company-issued cellphones are stolen each year. Furthermore, 1 in every 2 are stolen right from the workplace.
One frightening trend has become apparent among lost or stolen smartphones—people are simply leaving old ones lying around when they get a new one. This issue is compounded in an office, where rooms can be filled to the brim with old phones that serve no other purpose than to be stolen.
Another use for the hard drive shredder
Leaving old phones lying around is just asking for a data breach—which costs a company $4 million on average. Many organizations simply don't know what to do with the devices, or how to efficiently recycle them. That's because hard drive shredders aren't commonly associated with smartphones, even though they make the perfect pair.
Although commonly used for hard disk drives, USB flash drives and other electronic media, the PDS-88 Solid State Media Shredder is an appropriate fit for any company looking to incorporate shredding as a part of their mobile device cybersecurity plan. Rather than leaving phones in boxes waiting to be sent off for disposal and leaving the company vulnerable, an employee can safely open the flap on the top, drop the smartphone in the slot and watch as it is pulverized in minutes, leaving no trace of the media.
Looking for a little more power in your disposal process? Try the PDS 105 Multimedia Shredder, which can take on the rigorous workload of organizations with thousands of employees to account for.
The number of stolen smartphones is dropping every year, which means many companies are catching on that the best way to prevent theft is to simply shred the cellphone on-site.