If a storage medium is defective, it does not necessarily mean that the data on it is irreversibly damaged. In many cases, the data (or at least parts of it) can be recovered with special tools. If defective storage media or IT devices are simply disposed of without deleting or destroying the data on them, this data could be disclosed during the disposal process.

The data on defective storage media could also be disclosed in the course of repairs or warranty claims. Imagine, for example, that an organisation sends a defective hard disk back to the manufacturer under a warranty claim. They detects a defect in the controller and replace the defective model with a new one for the customer. At the time the defective controller is replaced by a new one, the originally defective hard disk is only quickly and thus insecurely deleted. The hard disk is then returned to the market. In this process, sensitive information can be disclosed throughout the entire process, as it is still on the original hard disk.