Fergie's Tech Blog

Did Fed Lawyer Use Geeks-on-Call to Erase Gov't Computer Evidence?

Kim Zetter writes on Threat Level:

Scott Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel who has been under investigation for retaliation against employees and failure to investigate whistleblower cases, is under suspicion for using Geeks-on-Call to erase all the files on his office computer last year as well as laptops belonging to two of his former deputies.

Block claims that he had Geeks-on-Call delete all of his computer files and erase his hard drive because his computer had been seized by a virus. But he apparently bypassed his own agency's IT department when he brought in the outside geeks to do the clean-up. And, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the receipt for the work makes no mention of a virus.

Furthermore, the kind of erase Geeks-on-Call conducted on his computer -- a seven-level wipe -- is considered excessive for treating a virus. As the head of Geeks-on-Call's Washington office told the WSJ, "We don't do a seven-level wipe for a virus."

posted by Fergie @ 11/28/2007 12:39:00 PM