The article says the IRS keeps six months of backup data. It then goes on to say they can recover data from 2-4 years ago. How does that work, exactly? These two things seem mutually exclusive. Can anyone explain?
Just a guess based on when my office used computer tapes back in the day. Although backup tapes are made available for reuse after six months, they probably are not needed immediately. They could possibly be stored in a tape library for several years before they are used again.