Government Data Retrieval for Prosecution of Terrorist Suspects Teaches Us All a Lesson
By Kevin M. Warnk Sr. (i360Gov guest columnist)
During a recent engagement with a large software company in the archive and data protection space, our implementation team got a call from an attorney with a large government customer. He had a curious question: “Could we help the government with a problem they were having regarding data management and compliance?”
The conversation became more curious when we learned the lawyer was supporting the prosecution of terrorist suspects. As the story developed, all the electronic data that had been created over the last five years (this was in 2005) had to be quickly put into a searchable format for legal discovery.
Problem was, the data was not online. It was on 5,000 tapes, stored in boxes in a hot, non-air-conditioned space. Our team would be reconstructing file and email data, to merge it with existing production data in a searchable repository.
The challenge: We had to complete the job in 60 days, and the engagement wasn’t risk free: The government’s IT contractor made it clear that if we caused an outage on one of their production systems, they would seek relief for any SLA penalty the government might impose. (Turns out that 25% of tapes were unusable, some data sets could only be partially reconstructed, and it took us three times as long to complete the job.)
Our team actually read the data in from tape to scratch space, and then ingested it to the compliance repository, while copying data from the production file and email systems to that same repository. Speed was important, but so was maintaining chain of custody.
It Could Have All Been Avoided
The most remarkable thing about this engagement was how avoidable it all could have been. That’s true today, ten years later, even as data has expanded logarithmically, new government mandates require the archiving of data.
The first challenge when creating a digital archive is the sheer amount of data that is created in our society today. IDC tracks this phenomenon in its “Digital Universe” Report. Here are some interesting facts they discovered:
So, as we move further into the “digital universe,” Enterprise Information Technology (IT) departments are faced with an exploding amount of unstructured digital content with no effective means of managing it and all the liability or responsibility of its stewardship. Even worse, currently only 5% of this content is valuable in its current state. The result has been higher IT infrastructure cost, even as business is putting pressure on IT to do more with less. This also means that only a fraction of the unstructured data currently being used is of value to the organization, even though it is stored on assets like Network Attached Storage (NAS) that cost millions.
How to Meet Cost, Management, and Compliance Needs
So, how do we move data to a system that presents a lower cost, yet allow end users to access that data within their current workflow? Keep in mind, that IT bares the responsibility and possible liability (based on the SLA) of stored information. The organization will see significant benefits from creating an information repository that better leverages lower cost technologies and allows for better data management and compliance. Recognize that IDC points out that only 5% of the data is valuable “in its current state.” Might there be a way to meet the cost, management and compliance needs while also delivering value back to the organization?
What to Look for in a Data Management System
Managing data is more than moving it from fast storage to slow storage and back again. It’s about understanding the value of the information to the organization and providing it in to the people that need it in a cost-effective way. This could include the creator of the data, legal departments for litigation or compliance and even as a source to Big Data projects where it can be mined for additional value or aid in decision making.
When delivering a data management system, consider the following.
We are seeing fastest data growth in human history, but even more fascinating is that it is conceivable that this trend has no end, as we continue into our digital universe. Fortunately, we have the ability to meet these challenges by driving new technologies into the enterprise data center and bring value to our customers in exciting new ways.
Kevin Warnk works for the ViON Corporation, where he focuses on the data protection and Cloud industries. Kevin has spent the last 25 years in many roles dedicated to working with Intelligence agencies and Department of Defense customers. Before that, he served as an intelligence analyst with the US Army.
The most significant government policy, business, and technology news and analysis delivered to your inbox.
Subscribe Now