>do fax machines cache any information on a short/long-term basis that
could be accessed after disposal

When you say after disposal I assume the machines have been unplugged
from a power source for a while yes?

Depending upon the type of memory chips in your devices any image data
they are storing may be purged from memory upon loss of power (so called
"volatile memory"). I would suggest looking at the tech specs for your
machines to find out what type of memory chips they have. If you can't
glean that from the tech specs a call to their tech support folks should
give you the answer.

Even if your device does have volatile memory there may be (probably) a
part of the circuit (battery or capacitor or such) that would keep power
to the memory in case of short term power loss. In that case though if a
machine has been unplugged for a few days it probably would not retain
the data.

If your machines have the type of memory chips that do not require
continuous power to maintain the data in memory (which is called
"non-volatile memory" and would mean the data could still be resident on
the chip despite being unplugged)if you truly are disposing of the
machines (to the dumpster as it were) you could remove the circuit board
and beat it to a pulp with a hammer. It's actually quite a therapeutic
exercise <grin>. We do that to all our old hard drives - a few whacks on
the platter area with the pointy end of a pair of fence pliers makes it
very difficult for anyone (other than CIA/NSA types) to retrieve any
data.



Gerry


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Blake Richardson
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 3:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fax Machines/Multifunctional Devices - Information Security

Happy New Year Listserv.  I was made aware today that my employer has
recently disposed of three fax machines.  After the disposal occurred,
the question was asked whether information could be accessed from the
old machines, e.g. do fax machines cache any information on a
short/long-term basis that could be accessed after disposal.  I know
there are variables to this questions and some "depends on" such as the
manner in which it is destroyed.

 

On a related note, I read an article a couple of years back that
addressed concerns regarding multifunctional devices, namely the imaging
function.  The focus of the article was the following scenario:  The
Payroll Manager images several documents on a multifunctional device,
Bob (name changed to protect the innocent) is curious and wanders over
to the device a few minutes after the manager departs.  Bob is able to
access the documents and route them to his PC.  

 

I am a novice with multifunctional devices.  Do most device
manufacturers provide security functionality such as PIN's to help
prevent this?   

 

Thanks

 

Blake E. Richardson, CRM

 


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