Markey calls for investigation on copy machines

The much-maligned mainstay of the office, the copy machine, could be a jackpot for identity thieves, Representative Edward Markey said today in a letter calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible criminal misuse of the machines’ hard drives.
    
Most copy machines since 2002 have hard drives that record the images of copied documents, images that can include everything from a person’s Social Security number to a patient’s medical records to a police officer’s notes on a criminal investigation.

A CBS News report earlier this month pointed out that companies or government agencies often lease these machines but do not wipe clean the hard drives when the lease ends, allowing the next user to access, with limited technology, the copied images. The report investigated 6,000 used machines up for resale and found on them hundreds of individuals’ medical records, bank statements, income tax statements, and police details on a major drug investigation.
 
“I am very concerned that these copy machines can be a treasure trove for identity thieves, allowing criminals to easily access highly sensitive personal information,’’ said Markey, a Democrat from Malden who is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
 
“Thousands of Americans make copies of sensitive information every day, completely unaware that the data is stored on a copy machine hard drive and then often never cleared when the machine is resold or disposed of. Just as you wouldn’t leave a paper copy of your bank statement sitting on top of the office copy machine, a digital copy should not remain inside of it.”
GLOBE STAFF