14 December 2011

Kroll Ontrack announces ten data recovery stories you have to see to believe

LONDON, 14 Dec., 2011 –Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of data recovery, information management, and legal technology products and services, today announced its annual Top 10 Data Disasters for 2011. From human error to natural disaster, this annual list of real data loss situations compiled by Ontrack Data Recovery engineers from more than 30 Kroll Ontrack offices around the globe, reveals data loss is often inevitable, but not necessarily permanent.

2011 Top Ten List of Data Disasters Compiled by Kroll Ontrack

10. Bad image

An actor deleted her entire portfolio including her model card samples and recent pictures by accidently selecting the wrong externally attached USB drive using the MAC disk utility program.

9. Virtual reality

To increase system performance, an IT administrator split the C & D partition of his virtual server across two different systems. Running out of space, he rushed to consolidate C & D onto the same system. Not knowing that the same naming convention already existed on the target system, he copied over a critical data set.

8. Magnetic attraction

A laptop was put on a desk near some rare-earth magnets. The earth magnets came into contact with the laptop and when the user went to turn on the machine, it did not fully boot up and started clicking. Physical damage was caused to the platters.

7. End of month disaster

A corporate accounting department stayed late to reconcile the books for the month. While rejuvenating during a coffee break, a power outage occurred. All of the computers shut down including the financial server. Luckily the department’s computers were connected to an uninterruptable power supply(UPS). However, the continual brewing of their cups of Java drained the UPS’s battery, resulting in a crashed server.

6. Sunken business deal

Two businessmen met in a pub to discuss a future deal over a beer. The waitress accidently knocked over one of the glasses she was delivering, soaking the laptop which contained the business plans. A paper towel was not enough to save the laptop and its important deal files.

5. Smoking kills

A newly hired security guard was doing his first evening security check in a chemical ingredients warehouse. While he was informed that smoking is forbidden, he pondered who could possibly spot him enjoying a cigarette after company hours. After it was lit, the fire alarm sounded and prompted the anti-fire sprinkler system. All the electronic equipment, including 44 desktops and two servers, were flooded.

4. In the safe not on the safe

To avoid arriving late to a business meeting, an IT person opted to put a tape drive on top of the waterproof safe instead of inside it. Within an hour of doing so, the city was struck by a powerful earthquake and the tape was knocked to the ground. Then, the premise was engulfed by mud, water and sand. The tape looked irrecoverable.

3. A little piece of history

A freelance photographer happened to have his camera with him in the midst of the recent London riots. Some rioters saw they were being filmed and opted to smash the camera in order to destroy the potentially incriminating evidence. The camera made its way to Kroll Ontrack where 100 percent of the data and the video footage was recovered and supplied to the police.

2. Doggy eat dog world

A man encouraged his girlfriend to back up her photo library, which contained thousands of high-resolution photos from her photo studio. She diligently moved the data from her laptop to an external hard drive, but unfortunately that represented the only good copy. A friend then pulled into the driveway and the couple went out to meet her, but not before the hyperactive family dog heard someone at the door and came tearing out from underneath the table where the drive was sitting. The drive went crashing to the floor, causing much damage to the data.

1. Triple whammy

When a lightning strike caused a fire that sent abeautiful Caribbean island home up in smoke, the computer servers were burned and then doused with water by the firemen. The media then corroded while the building sat idle until it was safe to re-enter. In the end, the triple whammy of a lightning strike, fire and water damage was overcome in the Ontrack Data Recovery cleanroom.

“When important data is lost, it is wise to go straight to a reputable data recovery organisation. They will be able to assess the options and advise the best chances for data recovery success,” said Robert Winter, manager of data recovery, Kroll Ontrack UK. “We regularly recover data other companies have deemed not recoverable. We also see individuals attempt recoveries themselves or opt for a cheaper recovery option, which often results in more cost, or which renders the critical data irrecoverable.”

To learn more about these cases or enter your own data disaster for a chance to win an Apple iPad®, visit the Kroll Ontrack interactive data disaster lab.

About Kroll Ontrack Inc.

Kroll Ontrack provides technology-driven services and software to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers manage, recover, search, analyse, produce and present data efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to its award-winning suite of software, Kroll Ontrack provides data recovery, data destruction, paper and electronic discovery, document review, computer forensics, and ESI consulting. Kroll Ontrack is the technology services division of Kroll Inc., the global risk consulting company. Kroll is a subsidiary of Altegrity, an industry-leading provider of information solutions.