I found a memory stick with interesting files. What shall I do ?

[turbodog]

Plugged it into my Android tablet and ran virus check first. I'm not fresh off the boat.

You are if you posted on a public forum that you have sensitive/confidential information and didn't take responsible action upon learning of the 'owner'. You could easily be sued for damages if the stick were lost/stolen after the time you determined who it belonged to.

 

[turbodog]

The data is property of that company, so you can't destroy it. In a rare case... if the data is stolen by an employee, that stick may be the evidence needed to find and prosecute them.

I'd hand it to the police AND contact the company.

 

[scout24]

Jskelton- PM sent...

 

[gadget_lover]

I found a USB memory stick on the ground in the local town centre. It contains a significant amount of financial data for a large international company based in London

You are still in the EU, and they have very strict laws surrounding privacy of personal information. I'd either return it to the company or the constable asap.

Dan

 

[Jay R]

You are if you posted on a public forum that you have sensitive/confidential information and didn't take responsible action upon learning of the 'owner'. You could easily be sued for damages if the stick were lost/stolen after the time you determined who it belonged to.

Then it's a good job I haven't suggested anywhere that I actually intend to be anything other than responsible with it.
Plus, remember, I'm in England, not the U.S. If they tried to sue me for taking a day to decide what to do before giving them back their incredibly sensitive data that the lost unencrypted, not only would it not be accepted as a court case but it would be the biggest PR disaster they ever had. Our courts work a bit differently over here. They don't sit through stupid cases and rule. The judge just throws them out and tells the relevant party not to be such a tool.

I like the idea of turning it over to the cops and then telling the company. Covers me in all ways and if they want to give me a reward they still can. Think I'll do that. Thanks badtziscool.

 

[Nyctophiliac]

Shades of 'Mr Robot' methinks.

Off to local constabulary Jay. Let us know how it goes.

 

[blah9]

Good luck!

I just saw the first episode of Mr Robot last night. Seems pretty interesting so far.

 

[bltkmt]

I found an iPhone 6 a few months ago in the middle of a shopping center parking lot. At first I though I might have dropped my phone, then realized the case was rather tattered compared to mine.

Noticed it was on Verizon Wireless network. Called Verizon, absolutely no help identifying the owner. About an hour later someone called the phone and I answered. Explained I found the phone on the lot and asked if the could contact the owner? Turns out that the owner was at a class with her later in the day.

Had the woman give her my number and if she had a problem, to just use the find my iPhone feature. A few hours later the owner and her husband showed up rather angry with me. I wasn't asking for anything, nor would have I accepted anything. I'd hate so see someone have to pay for a new phone when there appeared to be nothing wrong with this one, other than being lost.

Next time, I'll toss it in the trash can and go about my way.

Crush the drive and be done with it.

Why would they be angry with yo?

 

[ven]

Why would they be angry with yo?

He was doing selfies with his hellfighters

 

[bykfixer]

Smash it and throw it in the the trash.

 

[Lou Minescence]

Smash it and throw it in the the trash.

Best advice.

 

[NoNotAgain]

Why would they be angry with yo?

I'm not sure why she was ticked at me. There was no thank you or anything.

The husband might have been pissed at her for losing the phone in the first place.

Like I said before, next time it will go into the trash and I'll be done with it.

In my case, I purchase my phones outright. A 64gb iPhone 6s cost me $849. I can't keep my unlimited data plan if I get a subsidized phone. After the 15th month the difference in plan costs works in my favor. I would of paid a reward for the return. Cheaper than a new phone.

 

[turbodog]

I found a USB memory stick on the ground in the local town centre. It contains a significant amount of financial data for a large international company based in London (15 miles from me ) including cash forecasts, intercompany balances, expenses ,etc… More importantly it contains payroll data for over 500 staff including names, addresses, dates of birth, bank account details, N.I. ( Social security ) numbers, salary amounts, pension plan numbers, etc…..

So, what do I do with it? I could hand it into the financial regulators and they would be in heaps of trouble, give it to the newspapers, give the company a call and tell them I found it, pop into their offices next time I'm in London, etc…. I don't want to do anything illegal and I can't do anything that would suggest I'm asking for a 'reward' as that could be misconstrued for extortion. I was just wondering if anyone could come up with a (totally legal) but interesting thing I could do with it.

Statements like the bold area I marked sound bad in a deposition.

Glad you are handing it over.

 

[Esko]

Then it's a good job I haven't suggested anywhere that I actually intend to be anything other than responsible with it.
Plus, remember, I'm in England, not the U.S. If they tried to sue me for taking a day to decide what to do before giving them back their incredibly sensitive data that the lost unencrypted, not only would it not be accepted as a court case but it would be the biggest PR disaster they ever had. Our courts work a bit differently over here. They don't sit through stupid cases and rule. The judge just throws them out and tells the relevant party not to be such a tool.

I like the idea of turning it over to the cops and then telling the company. Covers me in all ways and if they want to give me a reward they still can. Think I'll do that. Thanks badtziscool.

1. First rule, never plug a usb stick you found into your computer. Virus scanners don't do a good enough job to protect you from the threats that they may possess. "Lost" usb sticks are also used for targeted attacks against companies and organizations. For example, ever heard of Stuxnet?

2. Big companies don't store that kind of data on usb sticks. It is just a copy, you can destroy the stick and they don't lose anything.

3. Also, what makes you think you are covered? If the data goes public some other route (for example, there is a so called insider threat that wants to leak the info), you are the first suspect because you are the only unauthorized person that is known to have had the data. Also, you have written that you have examined the data after you realized that it is confidential, searching for people you know. It is a no-no. In order to be a white hat, after verifying what you got, you should stop using it immediately. Around a year ago, there was a case in my country (in Europe) where a big technology funding organization had a security hole in their application system. It allowed applicants to see other companies' applications. Guys in one small company found it by accident. Next day, they reported it to the organization and also to the authority that supervises data security. Well done! Except that before doing it, they decided to "test" the security hole by downloading the whole application database to their own computers, close to 10000 applications with trade secrets in them... :fail: The case was investigated as aggravated fraud, I am not sure about the outcome.

It is both hard and difficult to be a white hat.

 

[aginthelaw]

I would turn it into the security dept. Of the company it belongs to, explaining you're not doing it to get anyone fired, and hope they can handle the matter discretely. but you'd still like a free tshirt