http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119621772122306160.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us

Quote :

"At the same time, Mr. Bloch has himself been under investigation since 2005. At the direction of the White House, the federal Office of Personnel Management's inspector general is looking into claims that Mr. Bloch improperly retaliated against employees and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination. Recently, investigators learned that Mr. Bloch erased all the files on his office personal computer late last year. They are now trying to determine whether the deletions were improper or part of a cover-up, lawyers close to the case said. Bypassing his agency's computer technicians, Mr. Bloch phoned 1-800-905-GEEKS for Geeks on Call, the mobile PC-help service. It dispatched a technician in one of its signature PT Cruiser wagons. In an interview, the 49-year-old former labor-law litigator from Lawrence, Kan., confirmed that he contacted Geeks on Call but said he was trying to eradicate a virus that had seized control of his computer. Mr. Bloch said no documents relevant to any investigation were affected. He also says the employee claims against him are unwarranted. Mr. Bloch believes the White House may have a conflict of interest in pressing the inquiry into his conduct while his office investigates the White House political operation. Concerned about possible damage to his reputation, he cites a Washington saying, "You're innocent until investigated." Clay Johnson, the White House official overseeing the Office of Personnel Management's inquiry into Mr. Bloch, declined to comment. Depending on circumstances, erasing files or destroying evidence in a federal investigation can be considered obstruction of justice. Mr. Bloch had his computer's hard disk completely cleansed using a "seven-level" wipe: a thorough scrubbing that conforms to Defense Department data-security standards. The process makes it nearly impossible for forensics experts to restore the data later. He also directed Geeks on Call to erase laptop computers that had been used by his two top political deputies, who had recently left the agency. Geeks on Call visited Mr. Bloch's government office in a nondescript office building on M Street in Washington twice, on Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2006, according to a receipt reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The total charge was $1,149, paid with an agency credit card, the receipt shows. The receipt says a seven-level wipe was performed but doesn't mention any computer virus. Jeff Phelps, who runs Washington's Geeks on Call franchise, declined to talk about specific clients, but said calls placed directly by government officials are unusual. He also said erasing a drive is an unusual virus treatment. "We don't do a seven-level wipe for a virus," he said."

[Edited on November 30, 2007 at 11:10 AM. Reason : ]

11/30/2007 11:09:49 AM

Whenever there's a problem, format drive C.

11/30/2007 11:34:00 AM

Formatting isn't enough to make data unrecoverable.

11/30/2007 11:56:32 AM

^ Stop ruining my dreams.

Anyways, serious security buffs rig their computers to explode. You can't recover data from an atomized hard drive.

11/30/2007 12:00:12 PM

Not only is there a coverup, but he used my tax money to make it happen...

11/30/2007 1:40:51 PM

send him a bill for $0.000000001

11/30/2007 1:53:54 PM

Quote :

"Formatting isn't enough to make data unrecoverable. "

They did a seven level wipe which makes it a good bit harder.

11/30/2007 2:15:37 PM

yeah ^ plus writing random data to the drive as it wipes pretty much makes it impossible

[Edited on November 30, 2007 at 2:30 PM. Reason : 

11/30/2007 2:30:15 PM

I'd only be satisfied with total atomization.

11/30/2007 2:32:00 PM