In this episode of the podcast (#226) we speak with John Shegerian, the Chairman and CEO of Electronics Recycling International (ERI) about his new book: “The Insecurity of Everything.” John and I talk about the world’s growing electronic waste problem and how foreign actors are believed to be harvesting sensitive data from laptops, phones and other electronics discarded by the U.S. and other nations.

A note: we have free copies of John’s book available for Security Ledger podcast listeners. If you’d like one use the button below to sign up and receive your copy!

As always,  you can check our full conversation in our latest Security Ledger podcast at Blubrry. You can also listen to it on iTunes and Spotify. Or, check us out on Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Radio Public and more. Also: if you enjoy this podcast, consider signing up to receive it in your email. Just point your web browser to securityledger.com/subscribe to get notified whenever a new podcast is posted. 

On Tuesday, Apple introduced the iPhone 13. It one of several device announcements made during a virtual event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California including a revamped iPad, and iPad Mini, as well as a new Apple Watch Series 7.

After the upgrade: tons of e-waste

That’s great news for Apple fans, but bad news for the environment. New devices, after all, mean a wave of upgrades as users jettison perfectly usable hardware for the latest and greatest. That old hardware may find a new owner in the secondary market. But much of it will become a part of the world’s massive river of eWaste along with television sets, video game consoles, home appliances and more. 

John Shegerian is the CEO of ERI

Globally, an estimated  59 million tons of used electronics end up in landfills each year. In the last 20 years, electronics waste (e-waste) has become one of the fastest growing waste stream in the world. What’s worse: e-waste is both difficult to recycle and exceptionally harmful to the environment. It accounts for less than 2 percent of the world’s waste stream by volume. But it causes over 70 percent of the waste stream’s harmful and toxic environmental effects, according to US PIRG. 

Sensitive data dragged to the curb

But there’s another, less talked about consequence of our e-waste problem: data lea...