Memory sticks, mobiles phones and dead rats are some of the items dry cleaners find in dirty clothes each year. A study from internet security firm ESET found that 22,266 USB memory sticks and 973 mobiles phones are left in pockets and near half, 45 percent of the devices never get returned to their owners.
As part of the research, ESET surveyed 500 dry cleaners across the UK, to establish how many USBs and mobile phones were left in dirty laundry over the last year. On average, each dry cleaner will find four USB sticks left in clothes pockets annually. While many of the devices do end up back in the hands’ of their owner, a shocking 45 percent never get reunited with their owners.
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Mark James, security specialist at ESET, said: “It is a huge concern that so many devices are being completely forgotten about by their owners, particularly in light of the fact that stories about the loss of crucial information is creating news headlines every day. However what is most astounding about the research is the fact that so many devices never actually get returned to their owners. The chances are most of these devices will end up getting thrown in the bin and who knows where they will end up after that.”
As for the strange items that dry cleaners have found in the pockets of clothes over the last year, some of the more peculiar items included:
A dead rat;
Multiple doses of Viagra;
Numerous condoms;
£1600 in cash;
Dentures; and
Lasagne and chips.
While some of these items are important, and also amusing, their frequency was minimal compared to technology items such as phones and USBs.
James added: “The number of USB sticks and mobile devices that are left in dry cleaners each year is staggering and clearly highlights the need for people to pay closer attention to protecting their data. In the wake of recent security breaches against high profile organisations it is time for people to start taking their own security more seriously. Data is of high value on the dark net and cybercriminals will always be on the look out for anything they can find. Out of the 10,004 USBs that never got returned, one can assume that a high percentage of them would have contained sensitive corporate data. This therefore creates a potential risk for UK businesses because there is a high chance these devices have ended up in the hands’ of cyber criminals.”
