ITAD Asbestos

When Mikko Hyppönen dubbed poorly built IoT devices “the asbestos of the Internet,” he nailed a truth that’s impossible to unsee. The cybersecurity legend was focused on the billions of insecure IoT gadgets flooding our lives, ripe for cyberattacks due to their flimsy defenses.

Like asbestos, these devices are everywhere — lurking in homes, offices, and networks — quietly shedding risk until they’re disturbed. And just as asbestos cleanup became a costly reckoning for an earlier generation, the mess of IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) is shaping up to be our digital equivalent — a pervasive, expensive problem that could even tank mergers and acquisitions if left unchecked.

The Perfect Storm of ITAD Non-Compliance

Hyppönen’s focus was on IoT as an attack vector: a smart camera or outdated router becomes a hacker’s playground. But the IT asbestos analogy stretches further. IT devices don’t just threaten us when exploited —they’re a compliance disaster when lost and unexplained.

The SEC’s cybersecurity rules are clear: losing track of an asset is a security incident, even if it’s not actively breached. “Immaterial” losses — like a missing server or lost laptop — must be disclosed when they pile up into something material. And pile up they do.

A Gartner study exposes the rot: 30% of IT assets are lost, 30% of purchased assets never hit the system of record, and 24% of organizations haven’t verified their inventory in over five years. That’s not just negligence — it’s a regulatory landmine.

Every unaccounted-for device is a piece of ITAD asbestos, a silent hazard that could trigger SEC penalties for sloppy disclosure or escalation controls. And much like asbestos, which was stuffed into every wall and ceiling of old buildings, these assets are everywhere—making the cleanup a daunting, wallet-draining ordeal.

The Costly Cleanup of Digital Asbestos

Asbestos was a miracle material until it wasn’t. Found in insulation, flooring, and even popcorn ceilings, it turned homes and offices into toxic traps. If you buy an old house today, you’ve got to test for it — and if it’s there, you’re staring down a remediation bill that can run tens of thousands of dollars.

Unaccountable ITAD is the same story. Cleaning up a sloppy IT asset management mess isn’t cheap. Tracking down lost devices, auditing years of neglect, and resolving missing hardware — it all adds up. And that’s assuming you catch it before the regulators do.

But here’s where it gets wild: the cost of ITAD remediation could become so steep it derails business deals. Imagine buying a company, only to discover its IT assets are a toxic swamp — hundreds of untracked devices, potential data leaks, and looming compliance violations. Suddenly, that acquisition looks less like a smart move and more like a liability bomb.

Companies won’t want to touch firms with toxic asset exposure, just like they’d balk at a building riddled with asbestos. What if ITAD due diligence became a standard checkpoint in mergers and acquisitions?

It’s not hard to picture lawyers and CFOs poring over asset inventories, demanding proof that every device is accounted for before doing a deal. Unaccountable ITAD could tank the deal — or jack up the price tag to cover the potential cleanup.

When Lost Assets Become Dealbreakers

The SEC’s crackdown is already making waves, with fines hitting firms that can’t get their disclosure act together. A lost laptop here or a forgotten server there might not sound like much, but when 30% of your assets are AWOL, it’s a systemic failure — and a material one at that.

Regulators don’t care if those devices didn’t spark an attack; they care that you didn’t know where they were or failed to treat them like cybersecurity incidents. That’s ITAD asbestos in action: not just a security risk, but a compliance and financial albatross. And in an M&A context, it’s a red flag that screams “buyer beware.”

The Asbestos of the Unprepared

Hyppönen’s IT asbestos warning was about cyberattacks, but it’s so much more. These devices are asbestos because they’re everywhere, because they’re hazardous when ignored, and because cleaning them up is a budget-busting slog.

Organizations sitting on untracked assets — 30% lost, per Gartner — are playing with fire. They’re not just vulnerable to hackers; they’re non-compliant with SEC rules and, potentially, unattractive to acquirers. The unprepared are staring down a double whammy: regulatory heat today and deal-killing exposure tomorrow.

The fix? Treat untracked IT assets like the asbestos they are. Build ironclad ITAM and ITAD programs. Track every device from purchase to disposal. Audit your inventory relentlessly — not every five years, but as a living discipline. And when it’s time to decommission, erase every trace of data and document every step. Anything less leaves ITAD asbestos in your digital walls — ready to choke your security, your compliance, and your next big deal.

ITAD as the New Due Diligence Roadblock

Mikko Hyppönen gave us a lens to see IoT’s dangers, but IT asbestos is bigger than he imagined. It’s not just about cyberattacks — it’s about the pervasive, costly mess of mismanaged hardware assets. In a world of SEC scrutiny and high-stakes acquisitions, compliant ITAD isn’t optional; it’s a survival tactic. Because if you don’t sweep your digital house of ITAD asbestos, the cleanup could cost you more than money — it could cost you the deal of a lifetime. Time to test, remediate, and future-proof before the inspectors — or the buyers — come knocking.

Avoid the Cleanup

To avoid problems down the road, transform your ITAD program today into Defensible Disposition. Contact us or connect with me on LinkedIn. For deeper insights into common ITAD misconceptions and best practices, check out my book ‘Where the IT Lifecycle Ends.’