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BlackBerry Sold On eBay Reveals Bank's Secrets
from the whoops dept
A former VP at Morgan Stanley realized he had no need for his old Blackberry (bought with his own money, but set up to work with his Morgan Stanley email), so he sold it on eBay for $15.50. What he didn't realize was that the device had copies of plenty of his confidential emails and a wonderful address book giving away large parts of Morgan Stanley's org chart - including contact info (sometimes home phone numbers). From there, the blame game begins. The VP says he had no idea there was any data on the device, and assumed that having the battery removed from the device would have erased its memory. Morgan Stanley blames the VP for not having turned in the device for a thorough cleaning (even though the device itself was his). Others blame various technology companies for not making it easy to clear out data on the device. All in all, it's a problem that's only going to get worse over time. As people get their hands on more and more devices that have local memory there are going to be plenty of stories of valuable confidential info being sold on eBay for pennies. Most people simply don't realize or don't care what data is still on their computers and devices.
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People have to learn to take responsibility for their own actions!
Whether this person did or did not erase his computer's memory, he is responsible for putting the information into it. Therefore, his is responsible for making sure that any personal and/or sensitive information is erased before he passed it along.
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Responsibility
Read the story before commenting on it ... most of the addresses and such were ALREADY placed on his PERSONAL Blackberry by Morgan Stanley.
Nor did Morgan Stanley follow their OWN procedures requiring the employee to turn in the device to have it wiped ...
Don't expect those making 7 figure incomes to actually understand the tools they use ... they don't.
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Corporate Stupidity
The bottom line: As long as a company allows employees to duplicate and triplicate company files on devices that leave the office, it cannot ensure that its information won't ever get out. It can only strive to protect itself.
Its the corporations responsibility to protect their own data.
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For anyone who is interested...
After seeing this story I went to ebay and checked pricing on Blackberry devices. Auctions are currently going for as low as $0.01 each, but I'm sure they'll close higher than that.
I called SkyTel to check pricing on service and they want a minimum of $49.95 per month for service, which seems ridiculously expensive to me. I get 3Mb/s cable modem access for that price, why should I pay the same for a wireless e-mail device?
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Re: For anyone who is interested...
> I called SkyTel to check pricing on service and > they want a minimum of $49.95 per month for
> service, which seems ridiculously expensive to > me. I get 3Mb/s cable modem access for that
> price, why should I pay the same for a wireless > e-mail device?
This is why you are still using a cable modem, if you were in business, and waiting for that deal that could give your business that million dollar client, you wouldn't be tethered to your office internet connection, you would be outside enjoying life.
$49.95 a month is worth it to me to be working on a tan over that sickly glow of those who only venture outside for new porn magazines and Mountain Dew.
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Re: For anyone who is interested...
You would really only pay for it if you have a need for it. If it doesn't make you money, or make you money faster, you probably don't need it. I speak for a lot of blackberry users when I say I need it!
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http://www.boycottgillette.com/
http://www.boycottgillette.com/
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BlackBerry Sold On eBay Reveals Bank's Secrets
$15?? Times must be tough at morgan stanely. That VP had a net loss on the transaction just with time spent.
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