[ISN] Old tape formats pose threat to data recovery

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Wed Aug 15 2007 - 23:23:56 PDT


http://www.itpro.co.uk/storage/news/122774/old-tape-formats-pose-threat-to-data-recovery.html

By Rene Millman 
15th August 2007

Defunct tape formats could mean that data stored on them may never see 
the light of day.

Many companies could find that data stored on old tape formats is almost 
impossible to retrieve, according to an expert.

Alastair Molyneux, business development director of data recovery 
company Kroll Ontrack said that some organisations have electronic data 
dating back decades and the chances of it being retrieved or rendered 
inaccessible over time are fairly high.

"Data is increasingly being stored in electronic format and we have seen 
an exponential increase in recovery requests in the last 20 years," he 
said. "Companies need to ensure that their houses are in order and 
everything is backed up properly."

He said that retrieving data that is damaged or inaccessible can be 
costly and may require special equipment. Molyneux said that by 
maintaining updated records and data on modern media formats, extraction 
could be "quick and painless".

"It is important for a company to look at its past as well as its 
future. By maintaining archives and ensuring data is easily accessible 
in a modern format, storage costs will decrease, the organisation will 
be better aligned with compliance regulations and essential information 
will be easily locatable," he said.


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