In the television show "Fear Factor," people do foolish things for money. While the stunts are ultimately harmless, one may question whether eating worms or sticking one's head in lard for a cash reward is worth it.

In the technology arena, there's a similar activity going on. But in this case, the actions are more careless and the outcome more devastating. This is the practice of selling used back-up tapes.

Many organizations have unwanted back-up tapes gathering dust. At first glance, if someone wants to pay you to take away your junk, you jump at the opportunity. But there is a massive difference between a carton of old Reader's Digests and a carton of old back-up tapes. While the buyer is paying about the same for each carton, there is a significant security problem in sending terabytes of corporate data on old tapes to the junkyard.