Many businesses make use of eBay to sell refurbished IT to generate capital. These businesses either list their used IT assets on eBay or first have their equipment repaired and then sell these devices on different E-commerce websites through third parties. Out all of the websites, eBay is considered to be the most effective as it can help people resell different products in no time at all. However, eBay is not a safe market for refurbished IT assets, unless they have been professionally cleansed of all sensitive data beforehand. Here are the main reasons why:

Hackers Are Always On The Prowl On E-commerce Platforms

It is a well-known fact that many hackers monitor e-commerce platforms with the hope that a business or individual might be selling used or refurbished IT assets. They will pounce the moment they recognise a seller as a business that might have sensitive information which they can use to their advantage. These hackers can also use personal information to blackmail people. So to avoid these hackers please consider using other platforms or avenues to sell refurbished IT assets.  

Data Can Be Retrieved From Refurbished IT Assets 

This may come as a surprise to many but data can actually be retrieved from refurbished assets, even if their hard drives have supposedly been wiped. Hackers are very creative in finding ways to exploit businesses and people, and can retrieve data which users might think does not exist anymore.  In most cases, simply restoring a HDD to factory settings does not destroy data; it simply scrambles the data links while leaving the files themselves intact. In theory this disorganises the data and makes it unintelligible. Nevertheless, there are many software packages that can be used to disentangle and restore data. These methods are used for positive reasons in cases where data is lost due to a computer fault – but can just as easily be put to malicious use. Well organised teams of cyber criminals will get hold of refurbished IT assets and will subject these devices to intense data retrieval techniques to obtain data that they can use to their own advantage.  

So How Should You Sell Your Refurbished IT Assets? 

Since selling refurbished IT assets on eBay is so risky, businesses should invest in a secure data wiping service before listing their products. This consideration is not limited to eBay sales. The same precautions should be taken prior to resale on any platform, or even prior to an asset being passed to another employee.

At Absolute IT Asset Disposal we offer secure data cleansing and shredding services for all types of IT asset. Using a combination of advanced data sanitisation hardware and software, we make sure that no data is present on before you resell the unit. You should also make sure assets are professionally wiped before being recycled or disposed of.

To learn more about data cleansing and used IT asset disposal please call 01332 371989, to get in touch with one of our customer service team.