Nigerian cyber criminals may soon stop asking for your banking details via annoying e-mails and calls. Journalism students from the University of British Columbia have discovered that personal, corporate and even military information are literally dumped at their doorsteps in Ghana’s capital Accra.

By Alberta Opoku

Rusty cars and refrigerators from around the world used to dominate Agbogbloshie, a notorious slum and electronic waste dump site in Accra. The dumpsite has developed into an economy of its own. Young men and children work at the site, dismantling computers and other e-waste in search of spare parts to sell at the nearby open-air market. A vendor at Agbogbloshie says the dumpsite generates business, not just for the dismantlers. “Look at the small girls selling sachets of purified water,” he says. “Indirectly they too are making money from the e-waste. We buy their water to wash our hands or to quench our thirst.” Razak is in secondary school and works at the dumpsite in Agbogbloshie. “During school holidays I work here fulltime, dismantling computers and other e-waste. I have to, because it enables me to save some money to pay for my school fees.”

Over the years seemingly useless computers have taken over the dumpsite from the rusty cars and fridges. Old computers from Europe and North America are labelled ‘donations’ and shipped to Ghana in big containers, says Peter Klein, an associate professor at University of British Columbia (UBC) Graduate School of Journalism. “In some cases the computers were being refurbished and used in schools. But more often than not, the containers are filled with junk. And that ends up in Agbogbloshie.”

Security risk
For years environmental organisations have been warning governments about the damages these dumpsites could cause to the environment and to the health of the people living in the surroundings. And now Mr. Klein and his students have revealed that Agbogbloshie also poses a security risk.
They bought some computer hard drives at the open-air market and discovered the drives were fully intact and contained pretty sensitive data. “Without having to do any data recovery we found very personal information: social security numbers, employment history and the kind of family photos you wouldn’t want others to see, such as children taking a bath,” Mr. Klein recalls:

These findings add a new dimension to cyber crime. Sensitive personal, corporate and military information have never been so easy to obtain by Nigerian cyber criminals operating from Accra. In the e-mail scams at least they request for your personal information. With data on dumped computer hard drives, they needn’t ask any more. Peter Klein: “We’ve all gotten letters from a Nigerian prince asking for money to help him get his fortunes out of the country. A lot of these princes are operating from internet cafés in Ghana. And those syndicates are also involved in identity theft. Young kids working for them go to Agbogbloshie looking for hard drives, so they’re fishing for information.”

Military intelligence
The hard drives at the open-air market in Agbogbloshie sometimes contain corporate data. Shockingly, the Canadians discovered that one of their newly purchased hard drives was filled with business information from Northrop Grumman, one of the biggest multibillion dollar military contractors in the United States.
Mr Klein: “It’s the kind of information that, in the wrong hands, could be incredibly harmful. We found particulars about military contracts on the hard drive. There were details about a two billion dollar contract with the Department of Homeland Security, and with the Department of Defence about military intelligence and airport security. This information wasn’t only competitive sensitive, it also makes the company susceptible to blackmail.”

“No Missiles”
Will the fact that even military intelligence could be out in the streets change the way consumers, multinationals and governments dispose of their computers? “There’s US military information laying out in the streets of Accra, but no missiles have been launched as a result. I mean, it’s not like we caught a Russian spy going through the data on his computer,” Mr. Klein laughs.

The journalism professor admits he’s a bit cynical. He believes it will take a bigger scandal than just sensitive information being dumped at the doorsteps of cyber criminals before the dumping of e-waste comes to a halt. In the meantime, his advice is this: “It takes major effort to actually get rid off something on your computer. And even if you do erase information, someone with the right skills can recover that. The only way to really protect your data? ‘Take out your hard drive, get a hammer and smash it!,’ a former FBI-agent told me.”

Only time will tell whether the dumping of e-waste in Agbogbloshie will end. One thing is for sure, though. It would put a lot of people out of business. Schoolboy Razak hopes he can continue earning his school fees from there. “I hope they don’t close down the place. I need the money to go to school.”

Listen to Radio Netherlands’ e-waste coverage on Bridges with Africa.

Journalism professor Peter Klein and his students made a documentary about their findings in Agbogbloshie: Ghana, digital dumping ground. You can watch it by clicking here.

Photo: ericrichardson (Flickr CC)