I worked for the Army for 34 years before retiring. All large government agencies are required to have a “COOP” (I believe the acronym stands for “Continuation Of Operations Plan”.) Basically, the COOP requires the agency to have all of their information backed up and stored on separate servers located in a different geographic area so that it can be restored in the case of some catastrophic event such as a fire, earthquake, etc. The IRS, like all of the other agencies, has the data readily available despite the fact that Lois Lerner’s computer cashed, and her hard drive was conveniently thrown away.
Wonder what the emails say.Must be pretty bad.
Here is their 10-K for 2008
http://www.secinfo.com/d151E3.ssb.htm
Some key excerpts:
“We released the Email Archiving solution in the fourth quarter of 2008 to address Corporate Compliance and eDiscovery issues.”
“We have patent applications pending for two aspects of our functionality that are unique. They are:
- Web Enabled Exchange Server Standby Solution Using Mailbox Level Replication
- Exchange Server Standby Solution Using Mailbox Level Replication with Crossed Replication between Two Active Exchange Servers”
“The system will leverage journaling capabilities of Mail Server to capture all emails coming in and going out of the Microsoft Exchange Server and archive it to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Server and this whole process will be transparent to existing users of the Mail System. It will utilize Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Full Text Catalog Search capabilities to provide a very sophisticated search engine to discover and retrieve emails for litigation or company’s regulatory compliance perspective. The system will also encrypt and compress email messages to avoid tempering and reduce space.”
“Major Product Features
- Automatically archive corporate email into one storage area
- Reduce email storage requirements which dramatically reduce Backup/Recovery time
- Migrate old PST files stored on client machines
- Set up email retention and categorization policies
- Helps comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Collect and archive emails in one geographical location
- Audit Archived emails
- Access emails from any location through a browser
- Advanced email search and ‘Saved Search’ capabilities
- One-Click Restore a single email to a mailbox”
Look at that one above - access e-mails from any location through a browser. Heck they should get the IT guy in front of the committee and get him to do the search live.
But why do I have a sneaking suspicion the IRS stopped using Sonasoft a few years ago and ordered them to destroy all archives... I have no data to back that up (heh heh) but it wouldn’t surprise me...
That's a real knee-slapper, right there..
1. June 2011, Rep Camp sends letter to Lerner inquiring about Tea Party targeting.
2. Ten days later Lerner’s hard drive conveniently crashes. Tells IT guy, “Ho hum stuff just happens.”
3. Of the 100,000 plus employees of the IRS only one employee (of more than 100k) in 2011 had a hard drive crash that resulted in complete loss of data. And just happens to be the primary employee under investigation.
4. The IRS hides the destruction of hard drive throughout investigation. Only informing when drive is subpoenaed.
5. Unless Lerner was running a mail server locally on her laptop (highly doubtful) a hard drive crash would never result in loss of email in an exchange server environment.
6. After hard drive loss, a networked laptop does not just install a fresh copy of an OS via CD and send user on way to start over. And nothing else. The laptop is restored from server level with user profile including all privileges to file and print and email, security tokens, data, etc. Where’s subpoena for the help desk logs showing who what where for new hard drive install?
7. In June of 2011 we know 7 people had hard drive crashes, all conveniently part of investigation, all somehow losing emails (which almost never happens). How many other employees out of 100k in IRS also had hard drive crashes resulting in loss of email during month of June? Bet none.
These IRS Gov employees are all most likely AFGE union members like the VA crooks are except the top dog or two who are political appointees. Yesterday I happened to look up two VA Directors of major hospitals. I kid you not they were both former nurses and one had only an MSN in nursing. The other had a Devry degree, but; it was not in management, business, or hospital admin. Neither had an MBA nor any military background like Army Medical Service Corp which is usually the branch that runs the Army hospitals. It appears that the Gov has gone out of its way to hire women and Hispanic males into the senior civil and federal service super grades.
“The IRS Had a Contract With an Email Backup Company”
Duh. Obviously.
Everybody knows they destroyed evidence, and are probably still doing so. The pathetic GOP is jumping up and down, saying, “look, look! there’s a squirrel in the tree!”
Cut down the damn tree, already! Where is the special investigative committee? Where are the prosecutors? Where is the appeal for a writ of mandamus and an order to produce to the DC Circuit? Where are the Federal marshals?
By being this weak, the GOP is only emboldening and strengthening “Obama”.
The reason the SA was so successful in boosting public acceptance and eventually respect for the NSDAP was not the few Jews they beat up or the few shops they wrecked.
The reason they were so successful was the very visible and wide-open lack of prosecution for crimes that any ordinary and orderly German would go to prison for.
As one of Obama’s heroes once said, “People will follow the strong horse”. That is EXACTLY what is happening right now. Fight fire with fire, or the game is lost.
Some good comments here:
Republicans keep pressing IRS over lost emails from Lerner, six others (Calling IT Professionals!!!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3169984/posts
E-mails are NOT stored on hard drives, but on servers, with backups. Also the entire hard drive is backed up every day to servers.
This is the most pathetic excuse. Republicans should subpoena the IRS contract with their IT providers and get their IT providers in front of Congress!
Every company backs up their data — after the 9-11 attack even to geographically different locations and they are telling us that the IRS only keeps data for six months?
They are selling us the Brooklyn bridge.
Republicans should take action to get to the bottom of this, not just whine...
I’ve had a number of friends, in and around Federal IT, say that the way to crack this is to subpoena the list of IRS IT vendors, start calling in their staff (from the execs down to the systems developers and administrators), putting them under oath and demanding answers under threat of Contempt of Congress and perjury.
Very little can actually be done about Federal staff (both political and career) that dig in their heels and refuse to testify. But businesses, and non-Fed government contractors with their professional reputations on the line, are a completely different matter.
No limit to WH tampering more to ensue.
So we only have to retain tax information 6 months now?
If these traitorous bastards can’t find the “missing” emails then it’s time we employ some of the Left’s tactics. We “find” the emails! We create some damning emails and read them aloud in the hearings! Imagine Rep. Camp saying “we’ve been able to secure these emails and what we’ve found is criminal. It seems Ms. Lerner directly contacted President Obama and Valerie Jarrett and discussed the targeting of tea party groups. These emails also implicate at least 114 others including IRS employees and members of congress. I’ll now ask the Capitol Police to take Mr. Koskinen, Rep. Cummings and Rep. Levin into custody. Warrants will be issued for the others. This hearing is adjourned.” That’s how you fight fire with fire.
We are required to keep records for IRS audits... but the IRS launders its dirty business every 6 months...
Is anyone sure that Emperor Obama didn’t send in a sweeper team to clean those hard drives?????
I work in the Financial Services industry, information technology, for a global bank.
If we were to receive a subpoena demanding emails and had the above for an excuse there is NO DOUBT someone from our bank would be held in contempt of court and probably sitting in jail.
Why isn't someone from the IRS (Lois Lerner) being held in contempt of court and sitting in jail?
Where are the FBI Raids on the company who had the contract to backup and protect IRS emails> Why isn't their equipment seized and turned over to FBI forensics experts who specialize in computer information/information recovery?
If it were me sitting in the House of Representatives, I'd be on the floor every day fillibustering asking these questions over, and over, and over again until the American people woke up!!!
http://www.dgmarket.com/tenders/np-notice.do?noticeId=3025874
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to award a sole source purchase order to Sonasoft Corporation, for the purchase of the software licenses related to Exchange Disaster Recovery capabilities.
The software initiates the real time replication of mail box changes and commences the backup of mailboxes via existing IRS servers. In addition, the software package includes the ability to rapidly switch to a disaster recovery site from a remote location. The software platform allows the OCC to recover customer e-mail in the event of a catastrophic Exchange server failure. Sonasoft Corporation has customized their commercial off the shelf software to operate within the OCC. Sonasoft is the sole proprietor of the software and software maintenance. Vendors who can provide the required services at prices, terms and conditions equal to or better than those which can be provided by Sonasoft Corporation, should submit clear and convincing data in writing substantiating an ability to furnish the entire requirement.
Simple solution...offer a cash reward of $1 million tax free for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Barack Hussein Obama.
Senior executives in the federal government, such as Lois Lerner & co-horts, have their computers upgraded/replaced VERY frequently-—much more frequently than ordinary IRS employees. When their computers are replaced, their files are copied from their “old” computers to their new computers. The computers of senior executives RARELY are used or aged enough to “crash”. So the odds of her and/or her co-conspiritors’ computer(s) crashing are astronomical.