According to GReAT Europe head Marco Preuß, “the potential damage if personal data falls into the wrong hands is enormous”. “Identity theft, access to accounts, blackmail or even social ruin of the original owners would be possible. In addition, data could be used to carry out attacks on the previous owner of the device as well as close family, friends or peers,” he said. The ownership of second-hand devices is becoming a more prevalent practice due to sustainability efforts. Kaspersky found that out of 2,000 UK consumers, 649 had bought a used computer, 802 a mobile device, and 321 had purchased used storage media.