Nearly all of us depend on our smartphones and tablets in one way or another — to stay connected, to look up information and to store notes, calendars and reminders, both for our personal lives and for our businesses.

Because of that, cell phones are a huge target for data thieves. A poorly secured phone can yield all sorts of information that can be directly valuable, like passwords, personal data, and proprietary information. Or, hackers may use contact information to launch phishing attacks or social-engineering schemes.

While nearly all modern smartphones make use of high-grade encryption to protect the data they contain, a number of vendors have developed ways to break that encryption and coerce phones into giving up the data contained on them — including data that was previously erased or deleted.

Some of these extraction methods are as simple as plug-and-play. Other attacks are more involved, requiring that the phone be disassembled so that the chips inside can be accessed directly. Either way, devices that were once considered secure may not be so in the hands of a determined adversary.

And while these “plug-and-play” solutions are intended only for legitimate law enforcement use, it’s only a matter of time before the exploits used for data extraction become available to malicious actors as well. So, securely disposing of unused cell phones now can help protect your data and your business from unexpected events in the future.

CyberCrunch can help you dispose of all of your unwanted electronics, including cell phones and tablets. Our secure process includes the complete physical destruction of these devices, ensuring that your data is completely unreadable. Contact us today to schedule a pickup or request a quote.