$170,000 worth of IT equipment, including printers, are disposed of despite malware only being present in two pieces of equipment.
The Verge reports that the US Department of Commerce spent $2.7 million (€2.1 million) – over half of its IT budget – trying to stop what it believed to be a malware infection in its IT equipment, destroying more than $170,000 (€132,000) worth of TVs, mice, and printers and only stopping once its disposal budget ran dry.
According to the article, just two pieces of equipment were actually affected by the malware, contrary to the department’s belief that over half of the 250 pieces destroyed had been infected. It has also been reported that some department members were aware of the error “but a series of misunderstandings led to that never being fully conveyed”.
The department’s auditor commented that “the destruction of IT components was clearly unnecessary”, and advised the department to “appropriately and effectively” respond to any digital security breaches in future.