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Abstract

This study was carried out intending to identify the level and type of information that remained on portable devices that were purchased from the second-hand market in the UK over the last few years. The sample for this study consisted of 100 second hand mobile phones and tablets. The aim of the study was to determine the proportion of devices that still contained data and the type of data that they contained. Where data was identified, the study attempted to determine the level of personal identifiable information that is associated with the previous owner. The research showed that when sensitive and personal data was present on a mobile device, in most of the cases there had been no attempt to remove it. However, fifty two percent of the mobile devices had been reset to the factory settings or had had all of the data erased, which demonstrates the previous owner’s attempt to permanently remove personal identifiable information. Twenty eight percent of the devices that were sold were not functional or recognized by the software used in the research. Twenty percent of the devices that contained data contained data that gave away the identity of the previous owner.

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