IT is IT, it doesn't matter if the client is the government or private sector. Not having a backup is a cardinal sin, and Lerner's assertion was simply laughable. There is no way a competent IT manager would not have multiple generations of backups, from immediately restorable online backups all the way back to physical tape stored in a vault. I do know something about digital data storage and retrieval, and to think that the government actually destroyed not only the online data, but erased all the backup copies as well is just not credible. Sure, somebody probably truncated a table or dropped a database, but nobody goes after all the backups, especially those on physical media in secure storage.The government is far more altruistic than private business. None of your “experience” has any relevance to this question.
The DoJ has rules regarding the destruction of personal data not used in criminal prosecutions.
I cannot believe that someone seriously thinks the government is more altruistic than the private sector. The private sector is about making money and convincing people to part with their money, while government is about power, and that's far more seductive than mere money.
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