Radiowell Study Finds 35% of Two-Way Radios Sold at Auction Still Contain Sensitive Data

Encryption keys, system programming, and employee information routinely survive disposal, exposing government agencies and businesses to security, financial, and reputational risk

NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiowell, America's largest provider of disposal solutions for land mobile radio (LMR) equipment, today released findings from a study of how commercial and government-owned LMR equipment is retired, resold, and recycled. The study found that 35% of radios offered on auction platforms — including eBay and government surplus auction sites — still contained sensitive data that was never erased.

For the study, Radiowell acquired more than 300 two-way radios over a six-month period from government surplus auction sites and commercial marketplaces including eBay, then examined each unit for programming and other data left behind by the previous owner.

The residual data includes system programming, encryption keys, talkgroup and channel assignments, and employee names. In the wrong hands, that information can be used to interfere with emergency communications or to obtain private details about an agency's operations and personnel.

In one example, a radio resold by an electronics waste recycler in Southern California was used to transmit a false "officer down" call, drawing an emergency response that included a police helicopter. In another, emergency communications in a rural area of Texas were disrupted by radio equipment that had been sold while still programmed, prompting a federal investigation and seizure of the equipment.

The problem is largely caused by failure to follow procedures. Many organizations have no consistent life-cycle management program for two-way radios, and the problem compounds when sub-agencies dispose of equipment on their own rather than following the procedures of the agency that originally programmed it. Even where policy is sound, execution fails.

"We receive large lots of radio equipment every day, and a good portion of it arrives documented as already wiped," said Andrew Park, Director of Research at Radiowell. "On average, about 3% of that equipment was recorded as sanitized but still held recoverable data. Usually it comes down to a glitch during the wipe process, or a vendor performing wipes with no audit step to verify the erasure actually took."

Many organizations also underestimate the liability that improper disposal creates. Agencies can be held financially responsible for damages, criminal misuse, or the depletion of emergency resources traced back to equipment they released. They may also face reputational harm or loss of access to radio networks critical to their operations. The same exposure applies to businesses that operate on government and municipal systems, including for-profit ambulance services and utility companies.

Radiowell recommends that any organization retiring LMR equipment adopt a documented disposal process that protects sensitive data and limits legal, financial, and reputational exposure. Radiowell provides clients with a verified data-wiping process that includes serial-level tracking and a complete audit chain, and the company assumes legal responsibility for the equipment it receives, protecting clients from downstream liability.

Government agencies and businesses evaluating disposal options for their radio and LMR equipment can request a consultation at https://www.Radiowell.com.

About Radiowell

Radiowell is America's largest provider of disposal solutions for two-way radio and land mobile radio equipment, serving government agencies, public safety organizations, utilities, and commercial fleets nationwide. The company provides LMR-specific asset disposition, including verified data sanitization with serial-level tracking and audit documentation, equipment buyback, and secure recycling. Learn

SOURCE Radiowell