Amy,
It is great to hear from you! I hope all is well.
I was not suggesting that any given judge would automatically assume
that relevant electronic stored information had been "wiped" by the mere
fact that wiping software was resident on the computer. However, legal
Counsel I have spoken with have inferred that if a court case has
reached the point that forensic discovery is being conducted on a
computer, the presence of such software could be detrimental to one's
case. Should opposing counsel ask me at my next deposition about the
presence of wiping software and absence of emails they claim are
missing, I'm not falling on the sword. All that said, I'm not a lawyer
and I would encourage anyone to consult their own legal counsel. I hope
you and everyone has a great weekend.
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Virginia Records Officer's Listserv
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Judd, Amy L.
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 2:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Just making an observation
I respectfully disagree with John's opinion concerning data wiping
software. Having data wiping software on a computer is no different than
having a paper shredder in an office. A lawyer could certainly argue
that records were shredded or overwritten in ANY case ever brought
before a court. However, having the ability to shred and overwrite does
not equal that those actions were taken. Nor would any court infer such.
The Records Management section at the LVA has often suggested in its
training sessions that offices look at installing Eraser
(http://eraser.heidi.ie/), a free/open-source secure data removal tool
for Windows. The product offers different levels of secure erasure--such
as Gutman, DoD, and Pseudorandom-- but one pass really should be enough
(at least according to the two articles linked below).
http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202429342
339
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Data-Wiping-Myth-Put-to-Rest-102376.shtml
Sincerely,
Amy
Amy L. Judd, Records Analyst
Denver Water
1600 West 12th Avenue
Denver CO 80204-3412
P 303.628.6196
F 303.628.6238
-----Original Message-----
From: Virginia Records Officer's Listserv
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Breeden, John B.
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 8:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Just making an observation
Sheri,
I offer the following to supplement what Anita has written. The dates
for offering records to the Library of Virginia in lieu of destruction
in Policy/Condition #4 might relate to their collection policy. As to
the dates selected, the Bureau of Vital Statistics began recording
births, marriages, and deaths all across the Commonwealth in 1912. The
Constitution of Virginia was revised in 1902, resulting in significant
changes to government in the Commonwealth.
As to the changes in Policy/Condition #8, Virginia Administrative Code
17VAC15-120-30 was added to the Virginia Register in December 2008 and
requires that paper records containing social security numbers be
destroyed by shredding, pulping, or incineration when they reach the end
of their retention period. The same regulation requires that records
containing social security numbers on computer hard drives and removable
media be overwritten, exposed to a powerful magnetic field to disrupt
the information, or the media physically destroyed.
However, Policy #8 as it is currently written appears to require that
any confidential or privacy-protected information be overwritten on
computers. I would think any state or local agency would have a hard
time implementing and enforcing this requirement. I don't advocate
complying with the policy of installing "wiping" software on computers
that don't have records with social security numbers. This is because
the presence of such software on a computer that is subsequently
forensically searched as a part of legal discovery could actually result
in sanctions for spoliation if opposing counsel could convince a judge
that records relevant to a matter being litigated had been "wiped"
John
John Breeden, CRM
-----Original Message-----
From: Virginia Records Officer's Listserv
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Vannucci, Anita (LVA)
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 7:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Just making an observation
Sheri,
Just like the schedules, the schedule cover page evolves. If you look in
the top left hand corner, under the Library's logo, you'll see the form
date. When a schedule is updated, the most current version of the form
will be used.
Anita Vannucci
Records Analyst
Library of Virginia
(804) 692-3650
[log in to unmask]
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/agencies/records/
-----Original Message-----
From: Virginia Records Officer's Listserv
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sheri Heflin
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 4:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Just making an observation
The Policies for Records Retention and Disposition, on the first page of
each schedule, lists different dates on different schedules of the
General Schedules under #4. Some have the date as 1902 and some as
1913. I hadn't noticed this before. Is there a reason why the dates
are different? I'm curious.
I also hadn't noticed that the wording of #7 and #8 is different on
different schedules and some schedules call that first page "Policies
for Records Retention and Disposition" and on others it states
"Conditions for Records Retention and Disposition".
I would think that the wording at least would be consistent among all
schedules.
Sheri L. Heflin
Administrative Secretary
Augusta County Service Authority
P.O. Box 859, Verona, VA 24482
(540) 245-5683 Office
(540) 245-5684 Fax
[log in to unmask]
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