Is it just me or did your mum also tell you to eat the receipt that came out of the ATM? Ahhh, just me? Damn. I really exposed my Mum for no reason. You can’t leave that information just anywhere. You really have to stay ahead of the bad guys. Hands up if you rip up your address from a parcel before putting it in the bin? I flush mine, but this is because I’m mad. You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, well, attackers have been doing this thing called dumpster diving.
Fun Fact : information deleted on hard drives can still be retrieved *mind blown*
Dumpster diving is when someone goes through your rubbish in order to find valuable information. I know, it’s a sad life. But, if you’re not careful you could be handing over some valuable information to an attacker. All I know is if someone goes through my bin, their hands will be smelling like scotch bonnet. That reminds me, African mums are funny, because why is there scotch bonnet in my bolognese?
Anyways, the main aim of dumpster diving is to find valuable information that can help the attacker build a big enough profile on you or a business. What type of information could this be?
Let’s look at the following infographic:
There are a few ways to prevent dumpster diving, which include the following:
- Use a shredder: It makes it impossible to piece the shredded document back together.
- Secure Bin: Companies should keep rubbish in a secure area to be picked up by a trusted waste collection company.
- Educate Staff: Ensure that staff know what type of documents they can print and what documents they can take home.
- Storage Media Deletion: data on hard drives can still be retrieved if not properly wiped/ disposed of.
This attack does not require much skill and is a real way attackers can get information on you or your business, and can start to figure out a way to commit identity fraud or gain access to your business’ system. If you follow the tips above you can prevent attackers getting their hands on valuable information.
Love & Guidance
Cyber T
The TT Protocol 