Shells of computer monitors and burning wires are piled up in digital dumping grounds such
as this one in Agbogbloshie, Ghana ( Photo: Blake Sifton )
One person’s trash may be another person’s treasure. However, one wouldn’t expect that trash to include information detailing sensitive United States National Defense contracts.
Earlier this summer, a team of University of British Columbia journalism students discovered multi-million dollar contracts, social security and credit card numbers among the data on discarded computer hard drives in Ghana.
They made the discovery while they were filming the documentary Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground, which aired on PBS.
The documentary details the illegal shipment of electronic waste, or “e-waste” from North America and Europe to Ghana, China and India, and the hazardous effects it has on both residents and the environment.
Blake Sifton was one of the students in Ghana that purchased the hard drives from an open-air market in the port city of Tema for about $40.
“It was pretty clear pretty quickly that this was very sensitive stuff,” said Sifton.
When questioning the locals about the market, the students were told that criminals who purchase the drives looking for
personal information often frequent the area.
He recalled going through the drives in Ghana and discovering the files before negotiating for an interview at the local police station.
“I left there, having seen these drives, and then got in a cab to go over to the police station,” Sifton said. “It was all very exciting. It’s why you get into journalism.”
The data on the hard drives was unencrypted. The students simply had to plug in the drives and immediately had access to files detailing a contract between the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and military contractor Northrop Grumman.
Upon returning to Canada, the students reported the find to Northrop Grumman, who asked for the return of the drives.
“We said, ‘This is what we have, can we talk about it?’” said Sifton. “They were like, ‘No, give us [the drives] and we’ll figure out the problem.’”
The students decided to keep the drives to conduct their research and afterwards reported their findings to the FBI.
However, Sifton was quick to point out that although the potential for cyber crime exists with improperly disposed hard drives, the true danger of e-waste is in the harm done to the environment. The students visited an area called Agbogbloshie, a digital dump where endless amounts of e-waste is deposited each year.