"What is invisible can also pollute. And it can also leave you exposed"

Collab: Thomas Parma Zeida. Founder of HORSECIAB. Attorney at Law with a specialization in Criminal Law (UBA). Undergraduate student in Cybersecurity (UNSO). Diploma in Cyber Intelligence (UNSO) and holder of Cybersecurity Certifications from Fortinet Cisco and ISC2.

When we think of electronic waste we usually picture disused cell phones computers cables or batteries. However there is a less visible dimension: the information that remains stored on those devices.

Argentina generates approximately 520,000 metric tons of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) per year which amounts to roughly 11.5 kg per capita. This makes the management of such waste a significant environmental challenge. Yet the issue does not end with environmental concerns.

A cell phone laptop hard drive or memory card can contain photos emails documents contacts credentials and other personal or corporate data. Even if the user has “deleted everything” file deletion does not necessarily mean the information is unrecoverable.

Various international studies have found residual data on second-hand storage devices. Research on pre-owned memory cards and hard drives demonstrated that in certain cases it was possible to recover information belonging to previous owners. This does not mean those percentages can be automatically extrapolated to the Argentine market. No documented case with concrete empirical data was identified in the verified sources to support a similar rate in Argentina. However sufficient evidence exists to consider the risk from a cybersecurity perspective. And this is precisely where environment and technology intersect.

A device that reaches the recycling pipeline should have previously undergone an adequate process of data sanitization or secure data destruction especially when it contains personal data or confidential information.

In the corporate realm this assumes even greater relevance. Decommissioning a computer should not simply consist of formatting it and sending it to be recycled. It is necessary to establish protocols that allow for identifying the information contained therein applying an appropriate sanitization method and where applicable maintaining an audit trail or documentation of the process.

Law 25.326 on Personal Data Protection continues to serve as the governing general framework in Argentina and the Access to Public Information Agency (AAIP) has issued recommendations regarding the security measures required to protect personal data.

For this reason the responsible management of a technological device should encompass its entire lifecycle: from the moment it is onboarded by an organization to the point where it is decommissioned and subsequently reused destroyed or recycled. Because a device may cease to hold value for its owner yet still hold value for anyone who recovers the information within it. Recycling technology also means protecting information #ForABetterWorld.

The next time we discard a device the question should not only be: "Where do I take it?" but also "What information am I leaving behind?"

Bibliography:

• Government of the City of Buenos Aires. WEEE Program — Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Information on WEEE generation and management.

• Círculo de Políticas Ambientales (2024). WEEE: Observations and Comparative Analysis of Legislative Bills. Source for the estimate of approximately 520,000 metric tons per year and 11.5 kg per capita.

• FARN — Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Information on electrical and electronic waste in Argentina.

• TechRadar. Two-thirds of second-hand memory cards still contain previous owners' data. University of Hertfordshire / Comparitech research.

• Silicon UK. Second Hand Drives On eBay Still Hold Personal Data. Research linked to Blancco Technology Group / Ontrack.

• Argentina.gob.ar / AAIP. Recommendations for protecting personal data on the Internet.

• Noetinger & Armando Abogados. Information regarding AAIP Resolution 47/2018 and security measures and destruction of personal data.

  
  

Disclaimer / Note: The research cited regarding data recovery corresponds to international studies. These are not used to assert an identical incidence rate in Argentina, but rather to demonstrate that the risk of data recovery from discarded devices has been technically documented.