Citing a current Popular Science article on hacked hardware and security breaches, John Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation’s leading recycler of electronic waste, has issued a public statement warning that the hardware breach issue is a serious threat to governments, businesses and consumers alike, and it is now more crucial than ever before to protect private digital data.

The article, “Hacked Hardware Could Cause the Next Security Breach,” by P.W. Singer, which Shegerian calls “essential reading,” appears in the March issue of Popular Science and is available online, here: http://www.popsci.com/nowhere-to-hide. It details the evolution of the mounting threat of cybertheft caused by storing private data and information on electronic devices.

The article explains that microchips are now the bedrock upon which our society’s digital world is based, and that they are almost entirely unsecured. It also predicts that more frequent and large-scale hardware attacks are just a matter of time.

“This Popular Science article is brilliant,” said Shegerian, “because it methodically, using real time examples, outlines the very real problem of hardware hacking – the growing new wave of cybercrime. It’s scary stuff, because we are all vulnerable. Our families, our medical records, our business data – even our homeland security – are at risk.”

“With current technological innovations, there is very fast turnover when it comes to business and private computers, laptops, cell phones and other consumer electronic devices,” Shegerian added. “Effective protection and destruction of private digital data has become a vitally important issue that needs to be addressed by all government, corporate and healthcare organizations, as well as every US citizen.”