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Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

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Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#31

Post by flomo »

dylan604 wrote: post #2

Take this as a lesson. If you've been a dev long enough, you've worked on a project knowing that how the project is being done isn't the best method with every intention of going back to make it better later, but not at the expense of getting the MVP up and running. You'll also have seen that never actually happening and all of those bad decisions from the beginning still living all the way to the bitter end. I'm gue…

They might have had the most perfectly developed decommissioning process. And nobody is going to care when their paychecks stop showing up, and everything suddenly gets trucked-off into receivership.

Given the era and constraints, I don't see how it was irresponsible or 'sloppy' to have a local database on these things. This most likely is not on development.

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#32

Post by School-Cotton »

goatlabs wrote: post #10
karlgkk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just wish.com ChatGPT

[flagged]

Everyone who posts obviously AI-generated content on hacker news gets heavily downvoted and/or flag killed. Without exception. Why not take a hint and stop posting it?

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#34

Post by Moru »

gscott wrote: post #25
WhyNotHugo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When a developer says “this is a temporary solution” they mean “this is a temporary solution forever”.

The beta version works fine, lets just keep it.

Never make the "Proof of concept" so good it is actually usable.

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#35

Post by nextlevelwizard »

larodi wrote: post #33

Are there any laws in any country governing how such equipment is supposed to be decommissioned in case if bankruptcy? This does not seem to be an isolated case, it just happening more and more with advance of technology.

What are they going to do? Sue the bankrupted company?

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#36

Post by raffraffraff »

flomo wrote: post #31
dylan604 wrote: post #2

Take this as a lesson. If you've been a dev long enough, you've worked on a project knowing that how the project is being done isn't the best method with every intention of going back to make it better later, but not at the expense of getting the MVP up and running. You'll also have seen that never actually happening and all of those bad decisions from the beginning still living all the way to the bitter end. I'm gue…

They might have had the most perfectly developed decommissioning process. And nobody is going to care when their paychecks stop showing up, and everything suddenly gets trucked-off into receivership. Given the era and constraints, I don't see how it was irresponsible or 'sloppy' to have a local database on these things. This most likely is not on development.

This.

I often wonder what was left behind when the financial crash happened. Watching documentaries and movies about it, it looked me like several large banks and insurers closed up shop overnight, and people were leaving the next day with boxes containing their personal effects.

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#37

Post by raffraffraff »

jordigh wrote: post #5

Where does Foone keep finding this stuff? Earlier, Foone finds a NUC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41294585

I know an employee in an IT company. He told me that they have hundreds of decommissioned laptops and no time to wipe them. And they won't pay someone else to do it because it's too expensive. So right now they are in storage. If they go bust, the storage company will likely dump them.

I've seen a lot of stuff in e-waste. There are several facilities within 5 miles of my home, and you can walk right in and drop off your old TVs, toasters and laptops in large metal bins. And if you have a quiet word with the attendant you can usually walk off with stuff that someone else dropped off. "Good for the environment mate! I can use this for parts!"

If social engineering works at banks, you can be damn sure it works at an e-waste facility. And if that fails, a few bank notes help.

I don't do this but I have intercepted e-waste coming from family and friends. In one case I found a treasure trove of photos from my deceased sister. Nobody had ever seen them before. I also found personal documents, internet history and saved passwords in the browser, which got me into her iCloud account which, until then, nobody could access. This lead to more photos and documents. And it was all destined for e-waste.

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#39

Post by michaelt »

nextlevelwizard wrote: post #35
larodi wrote: post #33

Are there any laws in any country governing how such equipment is supposed to be decommissioned in case if bankruptcy? This does not seem to be an isolated case, it just happening more and more with advance of technology.

What are they going to do? Sue the bankrupted company?

If instead of a load of old computers the bankrupt company had a pile of old tyres, I'd expect the receivers winding up the bankrupt company would dispose of the old tyres properly, paid for with the company's assets before anything is distributed to creditors.

Re: Redbox left PII on decommissioned machines

#40

Post by michaelt »

raffraffraff wrote: post #37
jordigh wrote: post #5

Where does Foone keep finding this stuff? Earlier, Foone finds a NUC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41294585

I know an employee in an IT company. He told me that they have hundreds of decommissioned laptops and no time to wipe them. And they won't pay someone else to do it because it's too expensive. So right now they are in storage. If they go bust, the storage company will likely dump them. I've seen a lot of stuff in e-waste. There are several facilities within 5 miles of my home, and you can walk right in and drop off y…

> I've seen a lot of stuff in e-waste. [...] if you have a quiet word with the attendant you can usually walk off with stuff that someone else dropped off.

In my country, there are specialist e-waste disposal companies large IT organisations can hire, which guarantee to remove and shred the hard drives before recycling the rest.

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