US missile defense plans turn up on eBay'd hard drive

For as much as people worry about the information collected by companies and the government, they often discard incredible amounts of personal information when they upgrade to a new computer.

Individuals aren't the only ones guilty of handing out information on old computers; in their annual study of second hand hard drives British researchers found a trove of information about a top secret U.S. missile defense system and other corporate information.

The research group also found payroll information, social security numbers, banking information, corporate secrets and even pictures of patient wounds at a nursing home on hard drives purchased from several countries on eBay and other auctions.