Inclusion of Cyber Security Dimension for a Safe, Secure and Trusted E-waste Disposal

E-waste has become a global phenomenon and the humongous volume of e-waste generated and disposed every day is getting worser every day. Its impact on sustainable growth is a serious matter of concern and several initiatives are taken by several organizations to control the danger of e-waste. However, the safe disposal of e-waste predominantly focus on the environmental aspect and minimal attention is provided to the data inside the devices and their possible cyber implications. Considering the enormous potential of Artificial Intelligence and the ability of data recovery tools that are available for all, the implications of improper e-waste can be severe and can even be life changing in some situations. Adoption of Cyber hygiene in disposal of e-wastes needs to be adopted not only by critical and sensitive organizations but also by all electronic gadget users. In this work, a detailed study is made on the potential challenges that careless disposal of electronic devices could bring and also discusses on the proactive mechanisms that needs to be followed to prevent the potential cyber threats.