Despite 'Double Delete,' Official's E-Mail Probably Can Still Be Retrieved
Although public employees in Massachusetts aren’t supposed to delete their e-mails, a top aide to Boston’s mayor apparently did.
But, in response to a ruckus raised when the city wasn’t able to provide his e-mail in response to a public records request, forensic experts say most or all of the electronic messages can probably still be retrieved, reports the Boston Globe.
Despite the “double delete” technique used by the policy and planning chief, Michael Kineavy, who reportedly discarded his e-mail into a trash file daily and then emptied his trash before a nightly backup, the messages probably are still on his computer hard drive, experts tell the newspaper.
The Globe’s request for Kineavy’s e-mail initiated the ongoing record-retrieval effort.
Earlier coverage:
Boston Globe: “State tells city to seize aide’s computers”
