Method and system for extracting privileged information from a mobile device and determining proof of secure erasure

A method for determining a proof of secure erasure (PoSE) of a pre-owned portable electronic device (POD), comprising:

• causing a pre-owned portable electronic device (POD) to display at least one privileged information on a display device of the POD;
• capturing by the camera of a companion device or by accessing a framebuffer of the POD an image of the displayed at least one privileged information;
• extracting an identifier of the POD from the image as a first evidence;
• querying at least one server using the extracted identifier;
• providing user instructions on how to securely perform an erasure of data of the local storage;
• receiving from the at least one server information associated with a status of the POD, as a second evidence;
• determining a proof of secure erasure (PoSE) of the POD, based at least on the first evidence and the second evidence;
• and
• storing at least the first evidence and the second evidence.

A method executed on a pre-owned portable electronic device (POD), comprising:

• requesting, from an operating system of the POD, read access to a framebuffer memory of the POD;
• requesting, from the operating system, for write access to at least a part of the framebuffer memory;
• rendering, using the write access to the at least part of the framebuffer memory, navigation instructions for guiding a user on steps to be performed for causing display of the privileged information;
• detecting, using the read access to the framebuffer memory, privileged information displayed as a consequence of the user performing at least some of the navigation instructions;
• and
• responsive to the detecting, sending to a companion device at least one of a notification that the privileged information has been detected, a plain copy of the privileged information, or an encrypted or hashed copy of the privileged information.

A system comprising one or more processors and one or more memory devices, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

• detect at least one of a manufacturer of a pre-owned portable electronic device (POD) or an operating system of the POD and, responsive to the detecting, select or adapt an instruction set from at least two instruction sets;
• provide, from the instruction set, multimedia, audio, text and/or video instructions indicating steps to be performed by a user for navigating to one or more screens that contain a relevant information, wherein the relevant information includes at least one of an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), MAC address, serial number, model number, battery health information, or storage capacity;
• capture at least one image, either by using a camera or by using a direct or indirect access to a framebuffer memory of the POD, the image containing the relevant information displayed on the POD as a consequence of execution of the instruction set by the user;
• extracting, using the at least one image, the relevant information;
• and
• storing the extracted relevant information in a data container in the one or more memory devices.