Robert Siciliano, an identity theft expert, discusses whether your data stays on iPhones traded to Apple. He found personal information on secondhand devices bought from Craigslist, and explains that while iPhone factory resets work well, Android and Windows devices leave recoverable data behind.
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Apple wants to keep its customers, and when people get new phones, they typically stay with their service longer, leading to revenue from data plans and apps. That's one reason why the tech giant is reportedly starting an iPhone trade-in program later this month. The phones will get refurbished and sold to other customers, but will your information be safe? Here with his take is Robert Siciliano, identity theft expert and McAfee consultant. Robert, good morning. Thank you for joining us.
Good morning.
So these trade-in programs, they are not new, but Apple jumping in, it is new for them. So what are some of the risks with trading in your smartphone?
Yeah, good question. I actually bought 30 devices off of Craigslist in the Boston area, and on those 30 devices, half of them, we found enough information to steal identities or in some cases even put people in jail with illegal information. So when you either buy a device off the secondhand market or sell it in the secondhand market, there's a good chance that your information is still going to be on there.
So is there no wiping the slate clean completely when you go to trade it in and then someone else goes to pick it up? They don't take everything off there? There could possibly be information?
Well, there is ways to wipe the slate clean. Uh, that being said, there are numerous software tools out there that you can and should use to wipe, say, a Windows device. Uh, an Android mobile phone is also vulnerable. Any, um, netbooks which don't actually have CD-ROM drives for reinstallations are a problem. What we did find, however, was that the BlackBerrys were really good when you reset the, uh, back to manufacturer settings. The BlackBerry was good, the iPad was good, and actually the iPhone— when you bring the iPhone back to the manufacturer settings, which is a way to do that, uh, any consumer that has the device in hand can go into the settings menu and do that— it does a pretty good job of removing all the information.
So there's so much of the information that actually is on the phone. If someone were to buy a phone and some of that information was still on there. What is your biggest concern as you see it that another individual would have access to that can then take advantage of what they found on there?
Yeah, especially, again, Windows machines and where there are additional partitions on that drive that still have data. Again, your identity could be stolen. Some of those secondhand devices could have viruses on them, and that virus could record your information in the form of spyware. So whenever you get a device, obviously, you know, reformat the hard drive, reinstall the operating system, install antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing. And anytime you sell or donate or trade in a secondhand device, make sure you set it back to manufacturer's settings. And doing simple searches on any of that will tell you exactly how to do that.
Apple has such a strong brand name out there in the marketplace. People hear it and think the company will know exactly what they're doing. But do you anticipate growing pains for a plan like this for the trade-in program?
Yeah, when you have hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of devices being sent back in or traded in, chances are a few are going to slip through the cracks and, you know, we'll be talking about it. So it's important that you as a consumer take responsibility for your device, make sure before you trade it in that you reset it back to manufacturer settings, and that, you know, you do your research because, you know, it's ultimately your data and your responsibility.
And you recommend— or excuse me, you mentioned that you got them online off Craigslist, but is there a place that you would point people to that does have a safe capacity?
You know, there are some sites out there that are paying that much more attention as far as selling things secondhand and trading them in. You know, eBay and Craigslist, they're not doing so much, you know, 'cause it's really all about you. But any of the particular websites that deal specifically with mobile phones and recycling or secondhand market specifically for mobile phones, they usually have policies and procedures in place that when they bring them in, they check them out and they're, you know, cleaning off the data. But keep in mind, there is actually somebody cleaning off the data. So they have access to the data. So again, you yourself have to clean it off yourself.
All right, we'll see if Apple has any stumbling blocks along the way. Robert Siciliano, identity theft expert and McAfee consultant, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.
