Dumpster Diving

As it relates to IT (information technology), dumpster diving is a technique used to retrieve information in order to initiate a network attack or commit fraud. It may consist of sifting through trash for valuable details such as passwords, PIN numbers, or access codes. Individuals who are involved in dumpster diving are even able to find value in seemingly innocent documents such as a phone list, calender, organizational statics or pre-approvals for credit accounts. This information can be used to assist in various social engineering exploits on the web or out in the real world. The best defense against dumpster diving is to comprehend the importance of personal data. This means that anything of value should be disposed of in an appropriate manner. Personal and corporate policies can be set in place where all paper documents such as reports and old account statements are destroyed in a cross-cut shredder before they are recycled. All important data on a storage medium should also be completely erased, leaving not a hint of traceable details.