Morgan Stanley fined millions for not encrypting hardware TechRadar Skip to main content TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. Morgan Stanley fined millions for not encrypting hardware By Sead Fadilpašić published 22 September 2022 Financial giant settles with the SEC over security risks (Image credit: Shutterstock) Audio player loading… Morgan Stanley has settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over claims that the financial services corporation failed to properly protect customer-sensitive data (opens in new tab). As part of the settlement, the company will pay $35 million, but will not admit to being guilty, or deny the findings of the SEC. The SEC found Morgan Stanley failed to protect customer data by poorly handling the decommissioning of some of its storage units. This included apparently hiring a moving and storage company "with no experience or expertise in data destruction services" to decommission thousands of hard disk drives (HDD) and servers, which were carrying unencrypted (opens in new tab) personally identifiable information on millions of Morgan Stanley clients, as far back as 2015. Losing servers The company, instead of properly disposing of the sensitive hardware, allegedly sold them to a third party which, finally, sold them on an internet auction. What's more, the moving company managed to lose 42 servers. "Customers entrust their personal information to financial professionals with the understanding and expectation that it will be protected, and MSSB fell woefully short in doing so," said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. Read more> T-Mobile to fork out $350m penalty over infamous data breach > Three crucial steps to avoid being clobbered with a huge data breach fine > Here's our take on the best privacy tools on the market (opens in new tab) "If not properly safeguarded, this sensitive information can end up in the wrong hands and have disastrous consequences for investors. Today's action sends a clear message to financial institutions that they must take seriously their obligation to safeguard such data." Data center commissioning is an entire industry, with businesses developing entire processes to make sure old and outdated storage units get disposed of properly, without leaking sensitive data to third parties. Over the past decade, data has become an extremely valuable asset, which prompted governments, privacy advocates, and various non-profits to pay closer attention to how major tech companies gather, store, and share, customer information.These are the best endpoint protection (opens in new tab) services right now Via: Tom's Hardware (opens in new tab) Sead Fadilpašić Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he's written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He's also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications. See more Computing news Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to theTechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. MOST POPULARMOST SHARED1My days as a helpful meat shield are over, thanks to the Killer Klown horror game2One of the world's most popular programming languages is coming to Linux3It looks like Fallout's spiritual successor is getting a PS5 remaster4I tried the weirdest-looking Bluetooth speaker in the world, and I utterly adore it5You may not have to sell a body part to afford the Nvidia RTX 4090 after all1We finally know what 'Wi-Fi' stands for - and it's not what you think2Best laptops for designers and coders 3Miofive 4K Dash Cam review4Logitech's latest webcam and headset want to relieve your work day frustrations5Best offers on Laptops for Education – this festive season Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)● (opens in new tab)The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviewsFrom$12.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)