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An internal email from USAID, recently acquired by The Verge, has revealed that the agency plans to remotely wipe devices issued to employees and label them as disposed. Following this action, all direct hires and contractors will be accountable for discarding the equipment. The communication has left it ambiguous whether this directive applies solely to staff in the continental U.S. or also those located abroad.
The devices in question have effectively become trash.
Some former employees had been anticipating the opportunity to return their devices prior to the recent shift in policy. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s administration taking office, he frozen funding for foreign aid and closed down nearly all USAID initiatives. A significant portion of USAID’s 10,000 employees work internationally. Reports indicated that those who were let go while abroad were informed they would receive shipping labels to return their devices, but these were never issued, as noted by The Verge last month.
A U.S.-based employee described a chaotic return process, where laptops were simply tossed into large rolling garbage bins at their office in late February. Electronic waste often contains toxic materials such as lead and mercury, which can seep into landfills, making it illegal in numerous states and in Washington, D.C. to discard specific electronics this way.
The procrastination in collecting these devices has raised security issues for the Trump administration, former federal employees, and affiliate organizations. Reports indicate that some employees were still able to log into work accounts and email from the discarded devices, despite their termination. These devices could house sensitive personnel records, confidential contacts, and financial details relevant to payments. Consequently, leaving these devices unattended placed the onus on former employees to safeguard this information.
Remotely wiping the devices should help mitigate these risks. This process is a standard method for federal agencies to protect data on devices that may be lost or stolen, according to a former government official who spoke anonymously to The Verge in March.
However, once wiped, former employees note that the devices would require a new operating system to be usable again. Additionally, terminated workers would be unable to utilize their personal identification verification (PIV) cards for logging into USAID computers, rendering the discarded technology essentially worthless. A former USAID employee, who also requested anonymity due to potential repercussions, expressed concern, stating, “Isn’t that just such waste? They will all be unusable.”
Typically, federal employees are expected to return equipment upon departing from a position, with devices often redirected to other staff or agencies, or even donated to local entities. Alternatives include public auction or secure disposal. Nevertheless, according to the Code of Federal Regulations, equipment valued under $10,000 can be “retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of [by recipients] with no further responsibility to the Federal agency.”
The State Department, which has taken over any ongoing USAID programs, has declined to provide comments. The email from USAID states that the decision to eliminate the need for former employees to return their equipment was aimed at “simplifying processes and reducing burden.”
Source
www.theverge.com