I think most workers underestimate how easy it is to "bring data back from the dead." Leaving aside the sexy profession of computer forensics, where specialists tear apart hard drives, most data is replicated several times in most companies. Given that most companies are networked these days, most workers store their files in directories on servers located in the IT department, or in some location the company uses to house its servers. It's not surprising to hear of people who think that erasing files from their network drives means that they are erased for good. Not so. I would bet that almost every mid to large size company has reliable back-up routines for the data stored on the servers. This can happen every night, every week, or whatever.
What does this mean? It means that your files probably have been backed up dozens of times on tape. The next question concerns if the company stores tapes offsite, or if operations people have access to the back-ups. I would suspect that a systematic effort to get rid of lots of data at Enron would take some considerable effort. Not only do you have to search and retrieve hundreds, if not thousands, of tapes, but you would have to go beyond just erasing them.
Physical destruction?
I hear the bell tolling for Enron and Arthur Andersen. It will be impossible to keep such a data destruction effort totally secret. Somebody involved will spill the beans.
Lesson for paranoid employees: store files on your hard drive, floppy, or don't save them at all.
<< Chuck0 >>
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INTERNATIONALISM IN PRACTICE
An American soldier in a hospital explained how he was wounded: He said, "I was told that the way to tell a hostile Vietnamese from a friendly Vietnamese was to shout ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ If he shoots, he’s unfriendly. So I saw this dude and yelled ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ and he yelled back, ‘To hell with President Johnson!’ We were shaking hands when a truck hit us."
(from 1,001 Ways to Beat the Draft, by Tuli Kupferburg).