(2008-01-28) Hard Drive Recycling Security

Dave Winer had to get his MacBook Hard Drive replaced, and is perturbed that he couldn't get the old drive back, and he has gotten no specific reassurances as to steps taken to make sure that any personal data on the old drive has been eradicated.

There have been cases involving data getting left on drives, and shared (ReCycling). Involving Geek Squad service, an Apple store/dealer in Shanghai China (ok that one's not much of a surprise), and BestBuy.

Simson Garfinkel documented back in 2003 how often data doesn't get expunged from replaced disks.

This might be a good reason to replace a bad drive yourself. Phil Windley notes that I Fix It has good instructions in how to crack open every Apple case. Apple's own site has a fair amount of documentation on Hard Drive replacement. A big open issue is whether doing this voids the warranty (if the machine is still under it, including Apple Care).

Matt Deatherage gives some more detailed advice.