Hi Hugh,
I understand your​ frustration with many of the inane comments made in the
media by all the parties involved.  Needless to say, but I am not
supporting the IRS actions in any way.

But I'd like to make a distinction about "backup tapes".  As a records and
information manager and consultant we often say that 'backup tapes' are not
designed for long-term or archival preservation of data.  This statement
does not imply that the tapes cannot maintain the data for 10-15 years
especially when they are maintained in climate controlled and secure
environments such as your vaults.  The issue with 'backup tapes' is that
they are not organized/indexed etc in a manner designed for accessing and
retrieving the required documents/data.  Good Records Management processes
always organize records in a method that allows for ease of access and
retrieval whether those records are in paper, digital, or even email:)

The purpose of 'backup tapes' is to restore a system that may crash and
burn.  These tapes will enable the IT group to restore the operation and
keep business moving within the context of the operating system but
archived records and data require some organization to enable the retrieval
and ultimate destruction many years after they are stored.

Keep implementing the vaults Hugh, because they are essential to the long
term preservation of our records and data - even backup tapes.  These may
become even more essential considering all the hacking that is going on.

Mary

Mary W. Haider, MBA, CRM
Records & Information Manager and Consultant
[log in to unmask]
865-983-1371


On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 10:52 AM, Hugh Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On Jul 24, 2014, at 12:01 AM, RECMGMT-L automatic digest system <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > From: Bruce White <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: RAINDrop - IRS scandal teaches agencies to archive
> > Date: July 23, 2014 at 10:32:42 AM EDT
> >
> >
> > In today's Federal News Radio...
> >
> > <snip>Agencies should be archiving all business communication to avoid
> the
> > mayhem similar to what's going on at IRS. While the agency shifts blame
> > from e-mail to instant messenger, Nancy Flynn, founder of ePolicy, said
> > agencies need to take a look at managing the many communication options.
> >
> > "One mistake the IRS made that has come out throughout this scandal, is
> the
> > fact that they were relying on backup tape. Backup tape is not intended
> for
> > the long term preservation of records. You want to archive those
> records,"
> > Flynn said.<snip>
>
> I tried to come up with something really stupid to say to compare with
> this statement but it is not possible.
>
> >> "One mistake the IRS made that has come out throughout this scandal, is
> the
> >> fact that they were relying on backup tape. Backup tape is not intended
> for
> >> the long term preservation of records. You want to archive those
> records,"
> >> Flynn said.<snip>
>
> How utterly ridiculous!  The time period over which this occurred was very
> short.  The computer media would not be taxed in holding its message in
> just a few short years.  Back up tape stored properly can provide accurate
> data for 10 to 15 years.  This all occurred in just a few years time.
>
> How about comparing the hard drives and saying they will not be staple
> after a few years……….?  I have computers here in my office I keep as simple
> archival storage and they range from 15 years to to 5 years to less than
> one year old.  And when I fire them up, they are just as solid as when I
> used them every day.
>
> I have computer media and flash drives I keep with information on them and
> I have yet to open one and find that it just failed due to aging.
>
> Computer tape (LTO, DLT and other tapes) can provide reliable back up for
> 5, 10 and 15 years.  So to say that Lois backed up her computer and in just
> a few years the data just crashed is ridiculous.  To think that in a
> professional setting like the IRS that their systems were so flawed and
> poorly maintained that these drives could crash and they had no methodology
> to back them up defies all logic.
>
> The only way that you can make this information disappear is to have very
> well trained and dedicated staff willing to go to any lengths to make this
> information disappear.  To make it disappear not only on her computer, her
> back up technology, the computers of the people she communicated with is
> beyond belief.
>
> Computer tape is not a short-lived back up medium.  Hard drives are not
> short term.  To have so many drives all crash simultaneously is also beyond
> belief.  Where are the interviews with the knowledgeable records managers
> and IT Managers who explain how ridiculous this is?
>
> And if it is possible, where is the call for banning this subcontractor
> from future bidding?  Where is the call for changing technology to
> something more reliable?  Where is the reference to the brand of hardware
> and tape and hard drive they were using so this company can be driven from
>  future work?
>
> It is the sheer boldness of these scandals and their simplistic responses.
>  “They are gone and there is nothing we can do.”  Bring us the head of the
> Microsoft, HP, IBM or other contractor who managed this equipment!  Ban
> them forever from future work.  But we all know there is nothing wrong with
> the tape and the drives.
>
> Hugh Smith
> [log in to unmask]
> (610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
>
>
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